Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Dec 29: After much delay, Government Medical Colleges (GMCs), Srinagar and Jammu are all set to have Genome Sequencing Laboratories (GSLs) to be made functional in the next few weeks.
Secretary, Health & Medical Education (H&ME) Department, Bhupinder Kumar told Excelsior that the GSL is being set up at GMC, Srinagar while the work for the same at GMC, Jammu will also be taken up soon.
“The Genome Sequencing Lab is getting commissioned in GMC Srinagar. The same will be done in Jammu after one week,” he said.
The officials at GMC, Srinagar also confirmed the process of setting up the GSL at the institution and said that in a week, it will be made functional.
However, they said that making the GSL operational will take some more time after it is set up at GMC, Srinagar, keeping in view the necessary accreditation which would be required.
“After the GSL is set up at GMC, it would require the accreditation from the INSACOG which would take more time for it to become operational,” the officials said.
It is to be noted here that the demand for the setting up of GSLs picked up when the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus came to the fore earlier. While the process for setting up the labs was kick-started then, however, the same could not materialize at that time.
As COVID-19 ebbed, the establishment of the GSLs also took a back seat only to prompt the authorities to take it up again and make it swift with the emergence of the BF.7 variant of COVID-19 in China with the Health Ministry directing the States and UTs to take the necessary steps.
The directives of the Ministry also included stepping up the Genome Sequencing of COVID-19-positive cases, particularly given the detection of the BF.7 variant which is said to be highly transmissible.
J&K, like other States, used to send a particular portion of COVID-19-positive cases for the Genome Sequencing to Delhi and other parts of the country which had the GSLs. However, the results of the samples would usually witness delay while as the number of samples sent for sequencing would also remain constant in view of the load on GSLs catering to huge needs. The same is now being said to witness a change.
“The setting up of the GSLs, one in Srinagar and another at Jammu, would help a great deal in the sequencing of COVID-19 positive samples which has become important with the emergence of the new variant of COVID-19; more so, it was long due,” the officials said.
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