Coronavirus epidemic hit East Asia 20,000 years ago, shows new study

A new research revealed that a coronavirus epidemic struck East Asia nearly 20,000 years ago.

The severity of the epidemic was strong enough that genetic imprints of coronavirus can be found in genome of modern day human beings as the virus can make major changes in human genome. 

The research, which was conducted by Australian and US experts, was published in the scientific journal Current Biology.

David Enard, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona and the leader researcher, and his colleagues studied genomes of 25,000 people from different 26 populations across the globe to understand the ancient epidemics. 

The analysis revealed that East Asian populations exposed to the coronavirus nearly 20,000 years ago, indicating that the region had adapted to the an ancient coronavirus. 

In addition, such changes have been limited to the region.

"When we compared them with populations around the world, we couldn't find the signal," said Yassine Souilmi, a co-author of the study.

"Viruses work by making copies of themselves. However, they don't have their own tools to do the duplication. So, they actually depend on a host, and that's why they invade a host and then they hijack their machinery to create copies of themselves," Souilmi was quoted as saying by CNN.

The researchers, during the study, also found the 42 genes owned about the same amount of mutations, which means they had all evolved at about the same time, CGTN reported. 

The study estimated the genes evolved antiviral mutations between 20,000 and 25,000 years ago.

Souilmi further said that 42 genes are worth studying for the scientists who are making efforts to find cure for the novel coronavirus. 

This is the first of its kind study that has traced the family of the virus back very far into history.