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Coronavirus pandemic

Infection with two strains of COVID-19 at once detected in Russia last year, expert says

Instances of double infection are not easy to confirm since the presence of two different viruses can be explained by other causes as well

MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. A case of infection with two coronavirus strains in Russia was detected last year in an elderly female, said Anna Speranskaya, who heads the group for genomics and post-genomic studies at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing.

"At first, she had one strain prevailing, and approximately in a week another one began to dominate," she told journalists.

According to the scientist, instances of double infection do happen, but they are not easy to confirm since the presence of two different viruses can be explained by other causes as well. The expert added that a preprint was released on the case of the double infection, which soon will be published as a full-fledged article in an international journal.

Earlier, cases of infection with two coronavirus strains at once were detected in Thailand and Belgium.

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