Three African National Student Test Covid -19 Positive in Assam

GUWAHATI: Three African students at Assam's Dibrugarh University tested positive for COVID-19, and their samples were sent for whole genome sequencing,

In a kit prepared by the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), NE of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in Dibrugarh, two samples tested positive for the Omicron strain, while the third result is pending.

"We carried out 'targeted sequencing' after the samples showed Omicron positive in our kit on Tuesday, which validated the test results," an ICMR source told national media.

For whole genome sequencing, the samples were transferred to the CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST) in Jorhat.

An M Com student from Comoros recently returned from his homeland and tested positive for COVID-19, according to Dibrugarh University International Affairs Executive Officer Arinjit Hazarika.

His two roommates in the international hostel, from Nigeria and Lesotho, tested positive for COVID-19 as well, and the trio was quarantined in the hostel, which houses 22 foreign students," he said.

The students from Comoros and Lesotho tested positive for Omicron in their kit, according to an ICMR source.

A 57-year-old man, his four family members, and their domestic help tested positive for Omicron in the RMRC kit on Sunday, and their samples were sent for whole genome sequencing, the results of which are now pending.

In less than two hours, the RMRC kit can detect the Omicron strain. The advancement is significant because targeted sequencing takes at least 36 hours and whole genome sequencing takes 4-5 days to discover the mutation.

A Kolkata-based company is currently mass-producing the equipment as part of public-private collaboration.

Also Read: Omicron pushes world's daily COVID cases to new record

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