Sequencing is still indispensable for the detection of new virus variants.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Frankfurt New waves of corona infection in numerous countries and the spread of the Omikron variant are not only increasing the need for vaccines. They are also putting diagnostics in the spotlight. The development should give additional impetus to both the demand for PCR testing and genome sequencing.
On the one hand, authorities around the world are faced with the challenge of recording the advance of the Omikron variant and potentially new mutations as precisely as possible. On the other hand, it is becoming apparent that the treatment of Covid patients will require an even more precise analysis of the pathogen in the future.
Sequencing is still indispensable for the detection of new virus variants. Because the common PCR tests can ultimately only compare whether certain smaller, already known and typical Sars-CoV-2 gene segments are contained in the samples. On the other hand, they cannot detect new, previously unknown mutations.
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