Omicron Test Kit Developed In Assam Gives Results In 2 Hours
- Dec 13, 2021,
- Updated Dec 13, 2021, 12:59 AM IST
DIBRUGARH: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in Dibrugarh, Assam, has designed a testing kit that will be able to detect the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in two hours' time.
The new variant is making its presence felt in various states, with at least 33 cases being detected in the country so far.
A team of scientists of Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) for the Northeast region, ICMR has developed a testing kit that enables to detect the Omicron variant of COVID 19 in real time. Earlier, it would take days to detect the variant.
The team led by scientist Dr Biswajyoti Borkakoty has prepared a kit that has the ability to detect the Omicron variant in 2 hours' time.
"ICMR-RMRC, Dibrugarh, has designed and developed a hydrolysis probe-based real-time RT-PCR assay for detection of the new Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2that can detect the new variant within 2 hours. This is important because as of now a minimum of 36 hours is required for targeted sequencing and 4 to 5 days for whole-genome sequencing to detect the variant," said Dr. Borkakoty.
The kit is now being produced on a bulk basis by a Kolkata-based company, GCC biotech on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
"The kit has been tested against specific synthetic gene fragments of Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 within two different highly specific unique regions of the spike protein and also reference wild type control synthetic gene fragments. Internal validation has shown that the tests are 100 per cent accurate," Dr. Borkakoty has said.
States including Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat have reported cases of the new COVID-19 variant with the total number of Omicron cases in the country going up to 33.