Karnataka Panel Supports The Use Of Omisure Testing kits

According to the state's Technical Advisory Committee, the state government of Karnataka should purchase Omisure testing kits for COVID-19 diagnosis. The kit is an RT-PCR variation that identifies all SARS Covi-2 viral subtypes, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron. The kit, would make entire genome sequencing more concentrated and minimise the workload in WGS facilities.

In comparison to other test kits, the turnaround time each test is also shorter. From the time, the sample is taken until the time the results are generated, it takes roughly 2.5 hours.

The kit includes both S gene dropout and S gene specific mutant amplification, as per the committee. As a result, it's an Omicron 'stealth variant' spotter that can identify all Omicron sub-lineages, including BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3. Existing S gene dropout kits are known to overlook these sub-lineages, therefore this is an obvious advantage. This is due to the fact that the Omisure kit employs a different area than the 69-70 amino acid deletion used in other kits.