As countries across the globe continue to reel under the fear of the ‘highly transmissible’ variant of Covid, experts have contended that genome sequencing is one of the indicators for detection and ultimate diagnosis of Omicron.
Talking to ANI, Dr. Naveen Dang, the director of Dr. Dang’s lab said that gene sequencing depending on the suspected cases and the missing S-gene can finally confirm the presence of the Omicron variant.
Deliberating on the issue, Dr. Dang said that the S gene dropout or S gene target failure is a marker or a proxy indicator to ascertain the presence of Omicron variant however it is the gene sequencing on which the ultimate diagnosis lies.
Explaining the process of detecting the missing S gene, the doctor said that the mutations in the latest variant have occurred in the S gene and common RT-PCR kits being used will be able to identify positive or negative, but will not be able to identify if the positive result is due to the mutation of the S gene.
“When we are doing tests, most of them target a large number of genes. Now usually tests in India test the E, N and Rd Rp genes. Even if one of these genes identifies as positive, we can identify they tested positive for COVID-19. However, most of the tests in India are not testing the S-gene because there was no kind of requirement for it. But if we have a test in which you have multiple genes, and one of the genes included in the SG and if the test shows positive for all the genes but negative for S-gene, we can say that this is an S-gene dropout or S-gene failure target failure. So if that happened, then by proxy we can say by default, we can say that this is Omicron and such sample should be on a priority basis. We send for gene sequencing studies. So once that is done only then only it can confirm whether it is the variant or not”, Dr Dang was quoted saying.
However, Dr. Dang maintained that since Omicron was very recently detected, there is very little data on its transmission and spread and scientific data is still being collected, and is really early to say about how contagious the strain could be.
Also Read: With Omicron Variant Lurking Globally, Is India Battle Ready for a Third Wave?
As a precautionary measure, he however emphasized maximum vaccinations and an additional booster dose along with abiding by Covid-appropriate behavior.
“Unfortunately, a large number of us have lowered our guards Those guards should be back in place. The promotion should be more stringent now. And of course, most important is that you must make vaccinate as many of our population as possible by both the doses and when required. Even a booster may be in,” Dr Dang told ANI.
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