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A group of experienced researchers in genomic sequencing coordinated by Professor Davide Cacchiarelli at the Telethon Institute for Genetics and Medicine in Pozzuoli, TIGEM, determined the complete sequence of the viral genome in 115 SARS-CoV-2 positive swabs made in the last months in the Campania region by the Zooprophylactic Institute.
Among these samples, it was also possible to analyze 6 swabs recently obtained at Capodichino airport in people from London: among these the presence of the so-called “English variant” of SARS-Cov2 was found, about which there are still many scientific aspects to be known. clarify to assess its real impact on public health. In the rest of the samples analyzed, a total of 8 different variants were identified, all belonging to “type B”, very widespread in Europe.
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The study, the results of which have been deposited in GISAID (the world reference database for viral genome sequences), therefore provides a first map of the SARS-CoV-2 variants present in the Campania Region and underlines the importance of viral genome analysis to characterize the evolution of the pandemic. “At TIGEM we have developed a technology that now allows us to analyze, with high precision and reliability, the viral genome in a large number of swabs per day. By December 31 – said Professor Davide Cacchiarelli, coordinator of the Covid19 genomic sequencing unit at TIGEM; we plan to sequence the viral genome in more than 1000 SARS-CoV-2 positive swabs. “
“This important result – declared Antonio Limone, director of the Zooprophylactic Institute – is the result of the enormous effort that all the staff of the Zooprophylactic Institute, coordinated by Pellegrino Cerino, has been doing for months in Campania, processing, in our laboratories, more than 400 thousand tampons and the implementation, thanks to specialized operational units, specific interventions in emergency management in the Campania region “.
Andrea Ballabio, director of TIGEM and coordinator of the research project on Covid19 funded by the Campania Region underlined that “the emergence of this pandemic has pushed us Teletón researchers to undertake the field in the fight against Covid19 by exploiting our genetic abilities. The discovery of the so-called English variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the swabs of people arriving from London at Capodichino airport further underlines the importance of studying the evolution of the viral genome, both to decide the containment measures to adopt, as well as in the future to monitor the possible emergence of aggressive or vaccine-resistant variants. From now on – Ballabio concluded – the diagnostic answer that we will be obliged to give to a person who performs the swab will not only be whether SARS-CoV-2 is present or not, but which variant it is. “
“The identification of the six positive cases – declared President Vincenzo De Luca – comes after the Region’s ordinance with which flights from the United Kingdom were blocked immediately after the news of the discovery of the new variant. It will continue in the coming days. . a careful work to control and filter arrivals and the evolution of the epidemic, to guarantee the maximum safety conditions, this survey developed by our centers is of great scientific importance and of great support for future work. excellence in research financed by the Region in March ”.
