Srinagar: Testing and reports of genome sequencing still take months from the labs outside of J&K, a delay that many stakeholders feel could prove disastrous given the emergence of new variants and their behavior across regions of India.
Additional Chief Secretary to J&K Government, Atal Dulloo said a tender had been floated for Gene Sequencer at GMC Srinagar. “The proposal forwarded to the Finance Department of J&K Government has been approved and the process of procurement has already begun,” he said.
He said the government was aware of the importance of timely details on all aspects and trends of the virus and the pandemic. “Very soon, we would not need to send the samples to outside labs from J&K for getting the genetic make-up data,” he said, adding that the process is being expedited.
A senior health official said that genome sequencing reports of samples sent in the month of June were being received while the entire month of July was still pending. “So while the Delta Plus variant and some other mutations are cropping up in other states, we have no idea whether these have reached here, as our reports are delayed,” he said.
The official said the department of Biotechnology, GoI had approved GMC Srinagar as a site for a multi-center two year project for Genome Sequencing. “We hope that this project will be implemented soon to get a real-time assessment of the scenario.”
In March 2021, J&K was categorized as one of the worst affected states and UTs in terms of the rise in cases. Beginning April, cases in J&K increased drastically, coinciding with the reports of Delta Variant raging across the country. However, it was only late April that the first case of a mutation was confirmed in a sample sent from here; by then the wave had taken an upward turn. A lockdown followed a week later.
In June, the genomic sequencing data from SKIMS Soura revealed that over 60 percent of cases reported from Kashmir in two preceding months could be attributed to a mutant strain.
In order to capture the early trends in circulating virus strains, J&K government in June this year proposed that a local lab be set up at SKIMS Soura to achieve this goal. “The SKIMS lab proposal has been shelved currently,” the health official said.
Earlier last week, GoI confirmed that a sample from Kashmir had been found to have Delta Plus mutation, the first such case here.