As many countries emerge from lockdowns, researchers are prepared to use genome sequencing to avoid an expected second wave of C

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问题     As many countries emerge from lockdowns, researchers are prepared to use genome sequencing to avoid an expected second wave of COVID-19 infections. Since the first whole-genome sequence of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was shared online on 11 January, scientists have sequenced and shared some 32,000 viral genomes from around the world. Such a vast amount of data has allowed researchers to trace the origin of COVID-19 outbreaks in their countries and pinpoint when community transmission occurred.
    Now, countries that have successfully suppressed infections are entering the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic—where there’s a risk of new cases appearing as social restrictions ease. Researchers say that genomics will be crucial to quickly track and control these outbreaks. Studies already show that outbreaks tend to be shorter and smaller when genomics is used to help contact tracing. "When there are few cases, genomics can very quickly tell you what you’re dealing with and therefore guide precision interventions," says Gytis Dudas, a consulting bioinformatician at the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre in Sweden.
    Several places are particularly well placed to do that because they invested in genome sequencing early in the pandemic and have a relatively small number of cases. Researchers in New Zealand, and at least one state in Australia decided that they would aim to sequence most coronavirus genomes in their country or state. As SARS-CoV-2 spread around the world, distinct lineages began to form as viruses circulating in different regions gradually evolved. By comparing sequences, researchers can quickly rule out possible lines of transmission if two sequences don’t match, or link together cases that do.
    Scientists in the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries are also sequencing SARS-CoV-2 from a large proportion of cases there, but because their epidemics are still ongoing and case numbers are high, genomics is being used to monitor spread and help identify the source of some cases where contact tracing fails. But such interventions depend on broad sampling, and so in places where diagnostic testing is limited, there will also be gaps in the genomic data.
    But the use of genomic analysis to help contact tracing is largely restricted to high-income countries, says Meru Sheel, an epidemiologist at the Australian National University in Canberra. She would like to see genomics considered as a tool for outbreak responses in resource-limited countries in the Asia-Pacific region, as it was in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and Guinea during the Ebola outbreak.
It can be indicated from Gytis Dudas’s words that________.

选项 A、cases can be diagnosed with the help of genomics
B、there will be no risk of new cases if you take interventions
C、genomics can be useful for identifying the pandemic situation
D、with few cases, researchers can track cases through infections

答案C

解析 推断题。根据题干关键词可定位至第二段最后一句“When there are few cases,genomics can very quickly tell you what you’re dealing with and therefore guide precision interventions”,即“当病例很少的时候,基因组学可以很快地告诉你当下的情况,从而指导你做出精准的干预措施”。A项在原文中都没有提及,属于无中生有,故排除。B项说法过于绝对,原文并没有提到只要采取干预措施就可以避免出现新病例,故也排除。D项属于偷换概念,离开了基因组学“genomics”,溯源不一定可以实现,故排除。C项和盖提斯.杜达斯的话含义一样,是原文的同义替换,故为正确答案。
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