: Lack of genome sequencing capacity hampers India’s efforts to track the spread of Omicron #IndiaNEWS On Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said all samples testing positive for Covid-19

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Lack of genome sequencing capacity hampers India’s efforts to track the spread of Omicron #IndiaNEWS
On Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said all samples testing positive for Covid-19 will now be genome sequenced to detect and isolate the Omicron variant. Kejriwal’s announcement came two weeks after Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to all states directing them to do exactly the same. In his letter dated December 3, Bhushan said, “Samples of all those who test positive must be sent for whole genome sequencing expeditiously� to the laboratories under the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium, or the Insacog network. But based on conversations with several state officials, Scroll.in found that states have not followed this advisory.Dr Rajesh Pandey, a scientist at the Council Of Scientific And Industrial Research-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, which maintains all Insacog data, said, “Ideally at this point sequencing all positive samples will give a clear picture� of Omicron spread.Genome sequencing studies the genetic makeup of the virus and helps detect mutations and variants that can be of concern. Omicron was first reported in November by South Africa where it has already become the dominant variant, genome sequencing data from the country shows. A month since, the variant has been reported in 106 countries. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday said...Read more

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