United States scientists have developed a new Covid-19 test that can identify all current variants of Covid-19 accurately within hours. The test, named CoVarScan, can detect all current variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by detecting the signatures of eight hotspots on the virus.
The researchers at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in the US published the findings in the journal Clinical Chemistry. The researchers tested samples collected from more than 4,000 patients. They found out that the test was as accurate as other methods used to diagnose the deadly virus. The test successfully differentiated between all current variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused Covid-19.
Jeffrey SoRelle, an assistant professor at UT Southwestern, and senior author of the study said "Using this test, we can determine very quickly what variants are in the community and if a new variant is emerging.”
In most Covid-19 cases, scientists use genome sequencing to determine the variant of Covid-19. However, this process takes a lot of time and it is quite expensive. Other tests for Covid-19 only detect the surface of the virus and don't provide information to identify the variant.
How does CoVarScan work?
The CoVarScan relies on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to measure the RNA at eight regions of SARS-CoV-2.
During the research, the CoVarScan had 96 percent sensitivity and 99 percent specificity as compared to genome sequencing. The CoVarScan test detected eight regions of SARS-CoV-2. It also detected small mutations to measure the length of repetitive genetic regions.
The Omicron variant rapidly became the world’s dominant variant of Covid-19. Reportedly, some experts believe that future Covid-19 variants will eventually weaken even if the virus grows more infectious. However, scientists still need to answer whether or not the new variant will be deadlier.
In January, Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, said that the new variant could be more transmissible.
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