Chennai: The whole genome sequencing (WGS) laboratory of the Tamilnadu government has joined the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).
Tamilnadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian has said that the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) has approved the State government’s request to set up a genomic sequencing lab.
The recognition would expedite the process of identification of variants including Omicron, on the basis of which disease prevention measures can be taken up, thereby reducing the impact of Covid-19 to a large extent, he said.
Officials of the Health Department said the recognition is part of the expansion of INSACOG, a network that monitors genomic variations of SARS-CoV-2. The Department of Biotechnology has approved the inclusion of the laboratory as a new INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratory (IGSL) in the consortium.
The Tamilnadu Health department had been raising concerns about the delay in receiving the results of the gene drop samples sent for genomic analysis amid the surge in Covid-19 cases.