Indian-Origin Scientist Arinjay Banerjee Part Of Team Finding Cure For Coronavirus In Canada

As the world continues to grapple with the growing number of coronavirus-positive cases, scientists are trying their best to find a cure to stop the spread.

In the quest to find a cure is a team of Canadian researchers, including an Indian-origin man, who have said they have isolated the virus behind the global pandemic.

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According to ANI, isolation of the virus by researchers from Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital, the University of Toronto and McMaster University in Waterloo raised hopes for a cure for COVID-19.

The researchers, including Indian-origin postdoctoral student Arinjay Banerjee, worked on samples taken from two patients. In a secure facility, they managed to isolate and propagate the virus, creating a source of COVID-19 for study as to how the virus behaves.

Long hours, lots of planning and the work has only begun. So much to do. Every one is working very hard!
Research team has isolated the COVID-19 virus. @MacHealthSci @McMasterU @UofT @Sunnybrook @McMasterIIDR #Covid_19 #CoronavirusPandemic https://t.co/LITmt1OCiR

¡ª Arinjay Banerjee (@sci_questions) March 12, 2020

The isolation of the virus will help them to work on solutions to the pandemic, the researchers said.

Arinjay Banerjee, who is a postdoctoral researcher at McMaster University's Institute for Infectious Disease Research and specialises in coronaviruses and in bats, said, "Now that we have isolated the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we can share this with other researchers and continue this teamwork. The more viruses that are made available in this way, the more we can learn, collaborate and share."

Highlighting the significance of their work, Banerjee said: "You can't validate anything without a virus."

Ecstatic about his contribution to the pathbreaking research, Banerjee said he always told his friends, "When I grow up, I want to be a guy who gets called in if there's an outbreak."

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He added, "What's happening with the outbreak is sad, but I'm glad I can contribute to the process of understanding this and controlling this outbreak."

Fellow researcher Dr Samira Mubareka, who is a microbiologist and infectious diseases physician at Sunnybrook Hospital said their team now needs key tools to develop solutions to the Coronavirus pandemic.

"While the immediate response is crucial, longer-term solutions come from essential research into this novel virus," she added.

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Congratulating his co-researchers, Toronto University microbiologist Rob Kozak, said, "Researchers from these world-class institutions came together in a grassroots way to successfully isolate the virus in just a few short weeks."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has quarantined himself as his wife Sophie tested positive for COVID-19. India too reported its first death due to coronavirus on Thursday as the number of positive cases soared to 77, with authorities taking emergency measures to contain its spread.

ALL INPUTS ANI