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Genome Sequencing By Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium Progressively Increased: Centre

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there have been some media reports alleging that genome sequencing and analysis of the COVID19 declined sharply in India even as cases of the disease continued to rise

Genome Sequencing By Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium Progressively Increased: Centre
Highlights
  • In August, 6,458 samples were sequenced: MoHFW
  • INSACOG also aim to see whether any person with VOC has entered India
  • For past 1 month, majority of new cases are from Kerala and Maharashtra

New Delhi: The Central government on Monday (September 6) refuted the allegation that genome sequencing by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Gen omics Consortium (INSACOG) has declined sharply while adding that sample sequencing has progressively increased. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there have been some media reports alleging that genome sequencing and analysis of the COVID-19 declined sharply in India even as cases of the disease continued to rise.

Also Read: How Prepared Is India For COVID-19 Third Wave

The report further claimed that the country sequenced a very low number of samples till date.

It is clarified that the number of sequences, as quoted in the report, seems to be taken from the Indian COVID19 Genome Surveillance portal. The sequences analysed in the IGIB SFTP are as per the collection date of samples and does not depict the number of samples sequenced in a particular month. The samples sequenced by labs of INSACOG consortium also depends on the samples sent by the respective states, the ministry clarified.

The number of samples sequenced in January was 2,207, in February 1321, in March 7,806, and in April it was 5,713. Additionally, in the month of May samples sequenced was 10,488, in June it was 12,257, in July 6990 and in August it was 6,458.

Further, the Initial part sequencing of samples by INSACOG labs was aimed at detecting the Variants of Concern (VOC) among incoming international travellers and also to see whether any person with VOC has entered the country in past one month (double the incubation period of 28 days) from the date of establishment of INSACOG (26th Of December, 2020). For the detection of the presence of VOC inside the country, 5 per cent of the positives (by RT-PCR) were targeted for sequencing. Both the objectives were achieved by end of January 2021, it said.

Many states like Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi started showing rising trends in the month of February and as a response, the sequencing was enhanced in four districts of Vidharbha, 10 districts of Maharashtra and around 10 districts of Punjab, the ministry added.

Also Read: COVID-19 Explainer: What Is The New Covid Variant “Mu”? WHO Warns It Could Be More Resistant To Vaccines

Moreover, the numbers have not been fixed to 300 samples per month or 10 sentinel sites per State. These are the indicative numbers and the states and UTs have been provided with the flexibility of identifying more sentinel sites ensuring geographic representation from all parts. In addition to the sentinel sites, there is the option for the States of sending vaccine break-through, reinfection or other unusual presentation samples for sequencing to INSACOG Labs.

Furthermore, the strategy of sentinel surveillance made sure that samples from each State were geographically well represented as the 5 per cent of random sampling strategy resulted in samples from certain districts being over-represented, while some districts remained unrepresented from States.

With the decrease in positivity, the samples available from the sentinel sites catering to districts with zero or single-digit weekly new cases have also gone down. Currently, over 86 districts in the country are having zero weekly new cases. For the past one month, the majority of the new cases are from only two states, namely Kerala and Maharashtra.

At present, out of the total 45,000 new cases, more than 32,000 cases are from Kerala and more than 4,000 cases from Maharashtra which means that 80 per ce cases are from 2 states and only 9,000 cases, which is around 20 per cent, are from rest of the Indian states. This is also reflected in the samples sequenced from various states. Since July onwards, for accurate sharing of sample particulars and timely communication of the WGS results, data for samples for WGS by the sentinel sites is being shared via the IHIP portal which ensures real-time sharing of sample particulars and WGS results, the ministry added. Accordingly, 9,066 samples were sent through sentinel sites in July and 6,969 samples were shared in August.

Also Read: COVID-19 Explained: What Is The Endemic Stage Of COVID-19 That India May Be Entering Into?

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (WaterSanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollutionwaste managementplastic banmanual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene

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