Brazilian scientists developed a PCR test that, in addition to confirming infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), indicates whether the person is infected by one of the three variants that are of most concern ( Brazilian, British or South African).
The discovery was made by researchers from the Leonidas & Maria Deane Institute, of the state-run Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in the Amazon, according to a statement from the institution.
The test is carried out under the RT-PCR protocol and according to the Vice Director of Research and Innovation of Fiocruz Amazonia, Felipe Naveca, it will allow the variants of the coronavirus to be identified more quickly and to strengthen the genetic surveillance of the virus.
“It is possible to do hundreds of tests daily, because the real-time PCR protocol is much easier and more direct than following the sequence, so today we are able to do hundreds of tests per day with our capacity,” he explained.
To confirm the precision of the test, 87 samples already genetically sequenced were analyzed, and the RT-PCR protocol obtained the same results.
Currently, the circulation of these three variants, initially detected in Brazil (in the Amazon), the United Kingdom and South Africa, is a matter of concern among researchers and health authorities around the world, because all three seem to be transmitted more easily and could be more lethal.
According to the Ministry of Health, Brazil has 184 cases of the Brazilian variant and 20 of the British.
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