Manasa Maddila, Mumbai Uncensored, 6th January 2021:
The whole-genome sequencing (WGS) laboratory of the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL) has joined the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).
Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said there could have been no other State in India that has set up a genome sequencing lab all alone.
In spite of the State having its own genome sequencing lab that was set up at an expense of 4 crores, and initiated on September 14, it was sending tests to labs in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune that are important for INSACOG for affirming the sequencing of the Omicron variation.
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) has perceived Tamil Nadu’s State Public Health Laboratory to direct entire genome sequencing, which implies the state will don’t really need to send tests to labs in Pune, Bengaluru, or Hyderabad to affirm variations, like Delta and Omicron.
Ma Subramanian remarked, “The state’s public health lab at the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services, which is overseen by CM MK Stalin, has set up equipment worth Rs 4 crore for this purpose”.
A senior authority of the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine said that around 150 samples can be tried at the same time at the lab and requires no less than five days to get the outcome.
