A team of scientists from the Novosibirsk Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine (ICBFM) SB RAS, one of the commercial companies in the Koltsovo science city and the Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics of the St. Petersburg Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov developed a test system capable of detecting the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and at the same time determining whether it belongs to the omicron strain.
As the press service of the ICBFM SB RAS told “RG”, the timely detection of a new strain is very important for several reasons. The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus is spreading many times faster than the strains that preceded it. In addition, it has a large number of mutations, which makes the strain more resistant to vaccines. There is evidence that “omicron” actively affects the child’s body.
To create a test system, a joint group of scientists worked with a synthesized sequence repeating the variable part of the omicron-strain genome. It is noted that the result is a highly sensitive test system that can be used to ensure anti-epidemic safety.
The testing process takes as much time as when using PCR systems already adopted by doctors. The material for analysis is also a smear from the naso-oropharynx of a person. However, at the exit, specialists receive not one, but two units of information – including the possible belonging of the virus to the omicron strain.
The developers of the test system hope that in the very near future they will be able to register their product as a medical device.
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