Mega Doctor News
LAREDO, Texas - The City of Laredo Health Department acquired new technology, Ion Torrent Genexus Integrated Sequencer, a next-generation sequencer (NGS) that will help detect new variants and mutations in viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.
The (NGS) is capable of sorting substantial volumes of DNA in parallel. The sequencer is capable of successfully detecting any pathogens (bacteria, fungi and viruses), which makes it relevant in various disciplines of medical laboratories. In short, new sequencing technology can read and evaluate a series of DNA data efficiently. In addition, this new technology provides an advanced workflow improving the reproducibility of the results and increasing the efficiency of the work carried out by our laboratory.
Due to the mutational nature of the virus, new variants emerge from time to time, and the fear that variants will go undetected is a concern of our community. Rapid detection of these variants is essential for surveillance and epidemiological studies. With this technology, the Laredo Health Department will be able to efficiently report newly detected variants with a response rate of approximately 24 hours per sample processed. Additionally, the sequencer will create a collaboration with the Texas Department of State Health Services and other health departments in the area.
โThe City of Laredo Health Department is committed to serving the Laredo and South Texas communities, says Raรบl Soto, Chief of Laboratory Services in the health department. "Having access to this sequencer allows the health department to better serve patients by identifying not only possible variants of COVID-19, but also other pathogens." Richard A. Chamberlain, DrPH, MPH, RS, Director of Health, shared his enthusiasm for bringing this new innovation to Laredo: โWe are the first in South Texas to acquire this technology that will not only benefit our community but the entire community. South Texas region. "
The key benefits of NGS are:
Identify variants of concern
Increase epidemiological surveillance
ยท Detect and isolate people with public health problems.
It is important to note that not all data collected by our laboratory will be sequenced because all samples must meet a critical threshold to pass through the sequencing machine. The City of Laredo Health Department will run as many sequences as possible.
The device will be tentatively ready to start providing data in January 2022.
