EXPLAINED: Why Genome Sequencing Results Take So Long, the Cost and its Importance in Public Health
2 years, 11 months ago

EXPLAINED: Why Genome Sequencing Results Take So Long, the Cost and its Importance in Public Health

News 18  

Omicron, the latest coronavirus variant fuelling the third wave of the pandemic in India, can be identified only through genome sequencing. But, as of now, genome sequencing results take anywhere between five and 12 days after samples are submitted. Highly equipped labs capable of carrying out a genome sequencing will need at least 300 samples to begin the process. Hence, sequencing is not done until at least 100 to 300 samples are chosen.” The ‘right’ sample “The Covid swab samples that have a CT below 25 qualify for genome sequencing. Genome sequencing can be used to study the number of infections that escape vaccines, study immune escape mechanism, source of infection, reinfection and several other factors that play a key role in public health issues.

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History of this topic

Decoding the script: On the Genome India Project and its sequencing 10,000 Indian genomes
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Decoding the script: On the Genome India Project and its sequencing 10,000 Indian genomes

The Hindu  

The Genome India Project, a project funded and coordinated by the Department of Biotechnology, announced that it had finished sequencing 10,000 Indian genomes. This means that the complete genomes — the DNA blueprint that constitutes and maintains human bodies — from 10,000 individuals were analysed to create a ‘reference’ Indian human genome. In a way, the latest enterprise would be …

What is Genome Sequencing? How Study of 10,000 Individuals is a Watershed in India’s Healthcare
9 months, 3 weeks ago

What is Genome Sequencing? How Study of 10,000 Individuals is a Watershed in India’s Healthcare

News 18  

Indian scientists are close to completing reference genome, with sequencing of samples from 10,000 individuals from around 99 communities already done. Union science and technology minister Jitendra Singh said genome study or sequencing will determine the future healthcare strategies across the world, both therapeutically and prophylactically. “It can also help in identifying resistance indicating variants, for examples, genes that might …

Indian scientists complete sequencing of 10,000 genomes for database
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Indian scientists complete sequencing of 10,000 genomes for database

India TV News  

Scientists have recently completed the sequencing of genomes from 10,000 individuals across diverse Indian communities. Why it matters Sequencing genomes—essentially mapping out an individual's genetic makeup—is crucial for shaping future healthcare strategies worldwide, both in treatment and prevention. The need for Indian solutions Union minister emphasised the importance of finding solutions tailored to Indian needs, given the country's emergence as …

Genome sequencing of 500 COVID-19 samples collected in December being done at INSACOG labs: Official sources
1 year, 11 months ago

Genome sequencing of 500 COVID-19 samples collected in December being done at INSACOG labs: Official sources

The Hindu  

Genome sequencing of around 500 COVID-19 samples collected in December are being done at the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium labs across the country at present, sources said on December 31 during a high-level COVID-19 review meeting chaired by a top government official amid a surge in cases in some countries. Mr. Mishra was apprised of the evolving global scenario of …

The Era of Fast, Cheap Genome Sequencing Is Here
2 years, 2 months ago

The Era of Fast, Cheap Genome Sequencing Is Here

Wired  

The human genome is made of more than 6 billion letters, and each person has a unique configuration of As, Cs, Gs, and Ts—the molecular building blocks that make up DNA. That 1990 project kicked off the age of genomics, helping scientists unravel genetic drivers of cancer and many inherited diseases while spurring the development of at-home DNA tests, among …

Delhi: Omicron found in 97% samples taken from Covid victims from Jan to March
2 years, 8 months ago

Delhi: Omicron found in 97% samples taken from Covid victims from Jan to March

Hindustan Times  

Ninety-seven percent of the samples taken from those who died of Covid in Delhi from January to March had the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to government data. Overall, the Omicron variant was found in all the 504 samples analysed at genome sequencing laboratories in the capital in March. The third wave of infections driven by the Omicron variant saw …

India's genome sequencing strategy to be revised to see if Omicron behind hospitalisations | Exclusive
2 years, 11 months ago

India's genome sequencing strategy to be revised to see if Omicron behind hospitalisations | Exclusive

India Today  

India is all set to revise its genome sequencing strategy to see if cases of hospitalisation in Covid-19 patients is due to the Omicron variant, sources said. Samples of hospitalised patients will be sent for gene sequencing; this will help establish if the new variant of concern is behind hospitalisation, increased severity and death in Covid infected people. READ | …

Omicron blazes through GHMC areas, 7,496 cases in 10 days
2 years, 11 months ago

Omicron blazes through GHMC areas, 7,496 cases in 10 days

Deccan Chronicle  

HYDERABAD: The Omicron variant of the Coronavirus is blazing through the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits. Despite the Telangana health department’s reluctance to inform people about the number of Omicron cases in the state, data on genome sequencing of Covid-19 samples in the city collected between January 1 and January 5, shows that 87 per cent of these samples were …

OMICRON: AP’s new lab gives genome sequencing test result in 36hrs
2 years, 11 months ago

OMICRON: AP’s new lab gives genome sequencing test result in 36hrs

Deccan Chronicle  

Vijayawada: AP’s newly started genome sequencing lab in the premises of the government Siddartha medical college here can test 48 samples in 36 hours. The health department has set up the genome sequencing lab on January 1, on an initiative from Chief Minister Jagan to ensure that the samples from AP are tested locally. The AP genome sequencing lab helps …

Ireland returnee tests Covid positive in Bengal; genome sequencing report awaited
3 years ago

Ireland returnee tests Covid positive in Bengal; genome sequencing report awaited

India Today  

A man, who had returned to Kolkata from Ireland last week, tested positive for Covid-19 following which he was hospitalised on Tuesday, a health department official said. The department is waiting for the genome sequencing report of the 27-year-old man to check if he was afflicted with the Omicron variant of coronavirus, he added. "From Monday morning, however, he started …

Chandigarh administration plans genome sequencing for timely detection of Omicron variant
3 years ago

Chandigarh administration plans genome sequencing for timely detection of Omicron variant

India Today  

After a fully vaccinated resident of Italy became the first person in Chandigarh to test positive for Omicron, the health department officials have stepped up the vigil in the city. The UT administration is planning to start the whole genome sequencing of positive samples in the city for the timely detection of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron, which has sparked …

Genomic sequencing is crucial in the battle against coronavirus. These countries do it well
3 years ago

Genomic sequencing is crucial in the battle against coronavirus. These countries do it well

CNN  

CNN — When South African scientists announced they had detected a new coronavirus variant with a worryingly high number of mutations, they were applauded for how quickly they were able to spot it. Sequencing efforts around the world leave much room for improvement, but South Africa’s discovery of the Omicron variant is an example of how focused efforts can make …

Omicron variant puts US coronavirus sequencing to the test
3 years ago

Omicron variant puts US coronavirus sequencing to the test

CNN  

CNN — Rows of scientists sit before racks of coronavirus samples inside a laboratory in Henderson, North Carolina, wearing face masks and scrubs. “We are now sequencing approximately 80,000 samples per week – about one in every seven PCR positive cases,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told a White House coronavirus briefing Tuesday. Currently, there are about 68 state and …

Mumbai’s first genome sequencing lab aims to break Covid code
3 years, 3 months ago

Mumbai’s first genome sequencing lab aims to break Covid code

Hindustan Times  

Thirty-year-old research scientist Vidushi Chitalia loads a cartridge into the sequencing machine with a large display screen. Mumbai’s first genome sequencing lab, which was inaugurated on August 4, is not part of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium — a network of 28 laboratories across the country tasked with studying the genomes of the various variants that emerge through the course …

Genomic sequencing hubs must be made a permanent part of India’s pandemic response
3 years, 4 months ago

Genomic sequencing hubs must be made a permanent part of India’s pandemic response

Firstpost  

Public labs put into action by the INSACOG for this purpose are not adequately funded and have the capacity to process only 30,000 samples a month. To achieve the five percent sequencing target, India must process 75,000 samples a month which is 2.5 times the current scale. Making private sector labs a part of the genome sequencing process can help …

We need better testing, genome sequencing and mortality data
3 years, 7 months ago

We need better testing, genome sequencing and mortality data

Live Mint  

The second wave of the covid pandemic has overburdened our health system. The latest CRS data suggest that in Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Telangana, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Kerala, only 50-80% of deaths are registered within 21 days. Moreover, 13.1% of total medically-certified deaths with a ‘medical certificate of cause of death’ were classified under the …

India has 7,684 coronavirus mutations, finds study: Here's what you need to know
3 years, 10 months ago

India has 7,684 coronavirus mutations, finds study: Here's what you need to know

Firstpost  

States including Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab and Karnataka are stepping up efforts to carry out genome sequencing in a bid to stay on top of the progressive changes in the virus’ structure At a time when the health experts are busy arresting the spread of foreign strains of the novel coronavirus, a scientific study has revealed that there are more …

India to Ramp up Genomic Surveillance to Study Coronavirus Mutations After Concerns Over UK Variant
3 years, 11 months ago

India to Ramp up Genomic Surveillance to Study Coronavirus Mutations After Concerns Over UK Variant

News 18  

The Union government is going to ramp up surveillance of the mutations and different strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in light of the outbreak of a new variant of the virus in the United Kingdom. “The expanded surveillance and study of mutations can be seen together with epidemiological data of Coronavirus infections to monitor co-relations, patterns in transmission and local …

Covid-19: What you need to know today
4 years ago

Covid-19: What you need to know today

Hindustan Times  

At the end of a year that’s been defined by the coronavirus disease pandemic, it is strange that governments around the world need to be reminded of this: the coronavirus does not follow their rules. Since December 1, for instance, according to the New York Times, the UK has sequenced 3,700 viral genomes, and the US “fewer than 40”. India …

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