December 12, 2021
1 min read

ICMR team designs kit to detect Omicron variant in 2 hours

The kit is now being produced on a bulk basis by the West Bengal-based GCC Biotech on a public-private partnership (PPP) model…reports Asian Lite News.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has developed a testing kit which can detect the new Omicron Covid-19 variant within two hours.

The kit has been designed by a team of ICMR scientists from the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) for the Northeast region led by scientist Dr Biswajyoti Borkakoty.

“ICMR-RMRC, Dibrugarh, has designed and developed a hydrolysis probe-based real-time RT-PCR assay for detection of the new Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 that can detect the new variant within two hours. This is important because as of now a minimum of 36 hours is required for targeted sequencing and 4 to 5 days for whole-genome sequencing to detect the variant,” said Dr Borkakoty.

Generally, it takes three to four days to detect the Omicron variant in infected people.

The kit is now being produced on a bulk basis by the West Bengal-based GCC Biotech on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Omicron

With the latest Omicron case detected in Delhi on Saturday, overall tally of persons infected by the variant has climbed to 33 in India.

Delhi reported its second case of Omicron on Saturday after a fully vaccinated individual with a travel history to Zimbabwe and South Africa tested positive.

Maharastra is on top of the list of states which have reported Omicron cases, followed by Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka.

ALSO READ-Third booster shot can beat Omicron: UK scientists

Previous Story

Religious scholar shot dead in Afghanistan

Next Story

Imran’s policy of appeasing radicals backfires

Latest from -Top News

EU Lawmaker Slams US Trade Deal

US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced earlier in the day that they had reached a trade agreement…reports Asian Lite News A top EU lawmaker has

Killing Fields of Gaza

While Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continue to dominate global headlines after hundreds of days of conflict, a parallel and equally devastating crisis is unfolding — one that receives far less attention: deepening

EU, China United on Climate, Split on Rest

Climate pact offers rare unity as trade rifts, Ukraine war, and economic tensions dominate EU-China summitChina and the European Union struck a rare note of unity on climate change Thursday, issuing a

Hungary Pays the Trump Price

Despite his success in wooing Trump’s conservative base, Hungary is among the EU nations most vulnerable to Trump’s incoming tariff blitz Hungary’s populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has spent years forging close

Meta Muzzles Election Ads

Meta to Halt Political Ads in EU, Citing Legal Uncertainty Over New Rules Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, announced on Friday that it will suspend all political advertising
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Omicron variant forces UAE expats to cancel holiday plans to India

Reports of Covid-19’s Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) have thrown a spanner

Bhumi offers help for ‘Covid affected’

Recently, Sonu Sood, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Arjun Rampal, Manish Malhotra,