CHENNAI: In a first, the State Public Health Laboratory under the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPH) is attempting to carry out whole genome sequencing (WGS) of the dengue virus to determine the strain and severity of the disease, as was done in the case of Covid-19.
Speaking at a presser on Friday, Health Minister Ma Subramanian stated that this is the first time that genome sequencing of the dengue virus is going to be attempted at the State Public Health Laboratory, DMS campus. Since there are no Covid-19 cases at present, the lab can be utilised for this purpose. Testing kits will be imported from the US, he added.
Director of Public Health Dr T S Selvavinayagam said that after Covid-19, dengue is currently growing into a challenge and this research attempt will help take preventive and control measures for dengue. “We will also know the severity of the disease. So we can take measures,” he added.
Selvavinayagam said the technicians at the lab were trained in genome sequencing as they already performed it for Covid-19.
The minister further cautioned that dengue cases may rise this year, based on the pattern of such cases spiking once every five years.
Since January, Tamil Nadu has reported over 12,000 dengue cases and five deaths so far.