PUNE: With the emergence of the Omicron variant, public health experts want laboratories to
conduct RT-PCR tests in whole for all the three genes, particularly on international travellers,
to help detect the absence of the \u2018S\u2019 gene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maharashtra state task force member Dr Shashank Joshi on Monday told TOI that a
complete RT-PCR report for Covid included that of the \u2018N\u2019 , \u2018S\u2019 , \u2018E\u2019 and \u2018ORF\u2019 genes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the \u2018S\u2019 gene is absent in a person and the other genes are positive, it is an indirect way to
know that the Omicron variant may be present in him or her even without conducting genome
sequencing. Unfortunately, not all laboratories conducting RT-PCR tests are checking for the
\u2018S\u2019 gene,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA directive may soon come for all laboratories to additionally check for the \u2018S\u2019 gene in a
sample. Deletion of the \u2018S\u2019 gene will red-flag Omicron ahead of genome sequencing,\u201d said
the task force member<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that countries using PCR tests containing
the \u2018S\u2019 gene could also utilize the \u2018S\u2019 gene target failure as a proxy marker for infection with
the Omicron variant of Covid. \u201cSimilarly, PCR tests are under development to test for this
variant without the need for full sequencing\u201d a WHO statement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Rahul Pandit, a member of the state task force and also the national Covid task force,
said with Omicron being stated as a cause for concern across the world, maintaining caution
was instrumental. \u201cThe Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution
(TAG-VE) is continuously monitoring the evolution of the virus. Based on this, TAG-VE has
advised WHO to designate Omicron as a virus of concern and will communicate new findings
with the member states and public,\u201d said Dr Pandit, who is the director (critical care) in Fortis
Hospitals Mumbai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, state coordinator for genome sequencing and head of B J Medical
College\u2019s microbiology department, said the current testing kits included detection of two
different genes, that could be either \u2018ORF\u2019, \u2018RdRp\u2019, \u2018N\u2019 or \u2018S\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With the emergence of the Omicron variant, public health experts want laboratories to conduct RT-PCR tests in whole for all the three genes, particularly on international travellers, to help detect the absence of the \u2018S\u2019 gene. Maharashtra state task force member Dr Shashank Joshi on Monday told TOI that a complete RT-PCR report for Covid included that of the \u2018N\u2019 , \u2018S\u2019 , \u2018E\u2019 and \u2018ORF\u2019 genes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resources"],"yoast_head":"\n