Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Published : August 5, 2021 11:16 AM IST
Genome Sequencing
Last month, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated its first genome sequencing facility at Lok Nayak Hospital. He also announced that the Delhi government is setting up another similar facility at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Services to tackle a possible third wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Maharashtra has got its own genome sequencing lab too.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday inaugurated the state's first-ever Genome Sequencing Laboratory in Mumbai. The facility can handle 400 samples simultaneously, and the results would be available within four hours, which would help avoid delays in getting the test reports, Thackeray said.
The new GSL facility at the BMC's Kasturba Hospital will not only enable in detecting the Covid-19 virus or its mutants, but even other contagious diseases speedily, he added.
Initially, Sars-CoV-2 genome sequencing was done by a group of laboratories across the country called Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG). Two central government laboratories in Delhi -- National Centre for Disease Control and Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology -- are part of INSACOG.
In view of the rising cases of variants of concern, experts have been highlighting the need for increasing genome sequencing across the country.
Genome sequencing is a process of analysing the genetic code of an organism. It helps scientists to identify the exact location in the virus where a mutation has taken place, which in turn helps in determining it virulence.
While launching Delhi's first genome sequencing lab, Kejriwal said that genome sequencing will help in timely identification of COVID-19 variants and planning better strategies to counter them. Delhi was initially dependent on the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the lab of the Central government, for this purpose.
Thackeray also pointed out that in order to fight the SARS CoV-2, it is imperative to study its genetics. The longer it takes to identify the virus types, it becomes more difficult to understand its effects and take steps to combat the disease, the CM stated.
The SARS CoV-2 is undergoing mutations and new variants are rapidly emerging, leading to recurrent outbreaks worldwide. Especially, two variants of concern, alpha (B1.117) and delta (B1.617.2), are causing a surge in Covid cases in several countries. According to the WHO, delta (which was first detected in India) has spread to over 100 countries and is becoming a dominant global strain. Hence, it is crucial to identify the circulating strains so that contact tracing can be done to check the further spread of variants.
Speaking on the occasion of the launch of Mumbai's first Genome Sequencing Lab, Nair Hospital Dean Dr Ramesh Bharmal said that the data analysed at the lab would not only help tackle the current Covid-19 pandemic but also other future epidemics.
With the third wave of Covid-19 creeping around, sequencing more samples can ensure early detection of potentially dangerous mutations.
At the same time, it is very important that people continue to follow Covid norms such as masking and social distancing, as these steps can prevent transmission of any variant.
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