The
National Health Institute (INS) has completed the sequencing and analysis of 71 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Peruvian patients, providing important information for the design and evaluation of vaccines, as well as treatments against COVID-19 in Peru, the
Ministry of Health (Minsa) reported on Thursday.
INS Molecular Biologist Carlos Padilla, head of the research, reported that the sequencing includes the phylogenetic tree, lineages, mutations, and routes of the virus to understand how it is spreading and changing in different regions across the country in times of pandemic.
The information is obtained from a rigorous study about the evolution of the outbreaks occurring in the country. To do this, samples from COVID-19 carriers were identified.
The samples were studied and processed using molecular techniques, thus obtaining copies of fragments of the virus genomes, which were then processed by a genetic analyzer.
These sequences were assembled and analyzed to identify the lineages, mutations, and genetic relationships between the samples collected in Peru and those from other countries around the world.
"This important sequencing study and the information analysis have been completed thanks to INS' high-tech equipment and human resources capabilities," the researcher stated.
It must be noted that the information is available to the public and researchers on INS' COVID-19 Genomic Surveillance Platform.
Likewise, it has been shared in the international
GISAID database, for the scientific community around the world.
(END) NDP/LIT/RMB/MVB
Publicado: 1/10/2020