Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) has finished the genome sequencing of three samples of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19).

The sequencing was completed successfully at the Genomic Research Laboratory of the BCSIR as per the directive of the Science and Technology Minister Yafesh Osman, said a press release from the Ministry of Science and Technology on Saturday.

Data gathered in the research has been presented to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), which has accepted and published it.

Principal Scientific Officer Dr Md Selim Khan, who led the research, said "According to analysis, this Bangladeshi virus has 99.99 percent similarity with European sources, especially with Sweden."

Data collected from 23 genome sequencing, including the three done by the BCSIR, are not sufficient for detail knowledge or to come to a conclusion.

More sequencing of virus samples collected from different places across Bangladesh is needed to speed the research work to determine sources, clusters, transmission dynamics, molecular dating and vaccine design, said the press release.

The Genomic Research Laboratory at the BCSIR is collecting virus samples from all possible areas across Bangladesh and sequencing their genome, as per the directive of the science and technology minister and the senior secretary concerned.

This research work will help inventing medicines and vaccine of the novel coronavirus.