CHENNAI: The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday included the Whole Genome Sequencing Laboratory at the State Public Health Laboratory in DMS campus in the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genome Consortium (INSACOG). This means the State can now declare genome sequencing results of various SARS-CoV-2 virus variants without waiting for other designated labs to confirm it.
Despite the State having its own genome sequencing lab that was established at a cost of `4 crore, and inaugurated on September 14, it was sending samples to labs in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune — that are part of INSACOG — for confirming the sequencing of the Omicron variant.
The State Public Health Laboratory was testing the samples and sending them to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for declaring the reports. The State Health Department had written a letter to the Union Health Ministry recently to expedite the approval process. Health Minister Ma Subramanian recently complained the results were getting delayed so much as they were sent to other labs, and were declared almost on the day when the infected were getting discharged.