PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, Jan 20: As many as 32 samples sent for genome sequencing to ILS Bhubaneshwar were reported as other Variants of Concern (VOC) of the Sars-Cov-2 virus.
Out of the total 87 samples sent to ILS from RIMS for genome sequencing, 14 were confirmed for the Omicron variant and 1 was found infected with the delta variant.
On talking to Dr Manoj Kumar, head of the Microbiologist department at RIMS about the 32 reported cases of VOC, he said that a variant is considered a variant of interest if it has mutations that are suspected or known to cause significant changes, and is circulating widely (e.g., known to cause many clusters of infected people, or found in many countries). There are many variants of interest that WHO is continuing to monitor in case they become variants of concern.
“A variant of interest becomes a variant of concern if it is known to spread more easily, cause more severe disease, escape the body’s immune response, change the clinical presentation, or decrease the effectiveness of known tools – such as public health measures, diagnostics, treatments and vaccines,” he said.
On the issue of whether other viruses are tested during the covid test, he said that the machines available are capable of detecting the other viruses too, but at present only covid testing is being done.
“If the doctors suggest for other tests also it is also provided in the report, but it is only done in the case where the doctors have prescribed to do that,” he added.
At present, the state does not have the genome sequencing machine to detect the strain of the virus and the samples are sent to ILS Bhubaneshwar to know the strain of the virus.
