CHENNAI: The first-of-its-kind Whole Genome Sequencing based test called ‘SPIT SEQ’ comes as a boon amid rising number of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases in India, especially in Tamil Nadu.
Developed by MedGenome Labs, the new test would provide a detailed analysis of every single mutation present in any TB bacteria causing resistance to drugs. This will enable doctors to quickly and accurately prescribe the most effective drug without a trial and error process.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 12th edition of TANCARE-2020, organised in association with TNIE, Dr Srinivasan Vedantham, the associate director of operations at MedGenome Labs said that the test has been validated with over 350 samples, where it recorded a 98 per cent sensitivity.
"We are in talks with the Central Tuberculosis Division to introduce the test in TB screening. The conventional tests that are available, equip us to identify resistance in a limited fashion. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is slow-growing and takes 6-8 weeks for culture growth. It delays not only the diagnosis, but also the drug resistance testing. The new test is a culture-free method to identify MTB and predict drug resistance within 10 working days," Vedantham said.
Meanwhile, during the inaugural session, other speakers like Sheela Nagusah of Apollo Hospitals, Raju Venkatraman of Medall Healthcare and Kausalya Nathan of Apollo Spectra also emphasised on prevention and wellness.