Scientists from INNO Diagnostics and Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) at Ponce Research Institute, a scientific research center at Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU), detected a variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID- 19 in tests conducted on the island.
The strain identified by PHSU scientists contains deletion 69-70, which is the one present in the variant recently detected in the UK, UK B.1.1.7. According to data recently published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 315 cases of this variant have been detected in the United States, according to Dr. Vanessa Rivera-Amill, Scientific Director of INNO Diagnostics.
“From mid-December 2020 we began to analyze the results of molecular diagnostic tests to determine if we had samples of interest. In the laboratory we developed a test that allows us to confirm whether or not we have the variant among the stored samples. Since then, the group of scientists composed of laboratory technicians Andrea Arias and Raphael Sánchez, the clinical director Dr. Gerardo Hernández, along with this server, began the research process to detect the SARS-virus variant CoV-2 “, said Rivera-Amill, who explained that this variant detected for the first time on the island has implications for public health, as the revised literature states that these variants can spread more easily among people. . However, he stressed that identifying this variant is an important step for the country’s scientific community, as it will “help mitigate the impact of spread on communities”.
For her part, Dr. Kenira Thompson, president of the Ponce Research Institute and vice president of research at PHSU reported that, once the identification of the variant was confirmed, she immediately contacted the Puerto Rican Secretary of Health. “We knew that variants of COVID-19 were likely to already exist in Puerto Rico. As scientists, our responsibility is to provide data that will help, not only for the development of other scientific evidence, but also in strategies. We have a team of scientists with a high sense of commitment and dedication to the sciences in Puerto Rico. Since the beginning of the use of the pandemic on the island , we have worked tirelessly to contribute, from the scientific field, in the identification of solutions that allow us to contribute to protecting the health and life of all “, Thompson expressed.
INNO Diagnostics is a Reference Laboratory in Immunology and the first laboratory affiliated with an academic center to process molecular samples to detect the virus that causes COVID-19. With 30 years of establishment, INNO Diagnostics has been characterized by the development and implementation of reference diagnostic tests, as well as Genotyping, and the detection of viral load by HIV. It is the only laboratory certified by the National Health Organization (WHO) for HIV genotype sequencing in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Latin America and provides diagnostic services to these regions.
To learn more about Ponce Health Sciences University, interested people can visit www.psm.edu
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