Variants of SARS-CoV-2 are continuously emerging.
A new method to detect the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 variants is developed by an interdisciplinary research team. The team, funded by the National Institutes of Health’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx®) Tech program, has adopted a customizable genotyping approach to identify known variants. The technique focuses on genetic reference markers of the relevant alterations that distinguish the variety of SARS-CoV-2 variants. The test is performed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which is already in use by our laboratory testing for COVID-19.
The top 10 most prevalent variants according to the World Health Organization (WHO) include: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Eta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, and Mu. As variants of SARS-CoV-2 continue to emerge, it is critical to know where they are spreading and how rapidly, so the necessary countermeasures can be implemented.
Kashi Clinical Laboratories will offer this test to help our clinicians make informed treatment decisions as soon as this test is authorized for clinical use. For information, please contact us here.
