Constant monitoring is the only way India can build up its defences against new virus strainsIn less than a month, it will be a year since India confirmed its first SARS-CoV-2 case in Kerala. The U.K.’s consortium of labs periodically sequences 5%-10% of the entire genome of SARS-CoV-2 isolates from the population. From October 5 to December 13, over 50% of isolates were identified as the variant strain in South East England. For some years now, India has had genome sequencing machines and the personnel to track and identify new variants. Therefore, continuous monitoring and developing suitable detection kits are the only way India can shore up its defences against this pandemic and those of the future.

Source: The Hindu December 31, 2020 18:32 UTC