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France 3
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France Televisions
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It’s a race against time to find the latest variant of Covid-19 Omicron. How is this research going? Report to the virology department of the Poitiers University Hospital (Vienne).
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The search for the Omicron variant has been at the center of the concerns of the virology center of the CHU de Poiriers (Vienne) in recent days. A hunt carried out using cutting-edge technology: sequencing devices make it possible to analyze the genetic material of the virus. A work of patience, where each sample must be prepared for two days before the sequencer intervenes. Potentially suspicious cases are selected for sequencing, around forty samples are analyzed each week.
For the moment, 99% of the samples studied are of the Delta variant, but Omicron could appear in the coming days. “Since the start of the pandemic, we have gone from variant to variant. Omicron is one more variant. Everyone has their dangers”, explains Prof. Nicolas Lévêque, head of the virology service. The number of weekly sequencing should double in the coming weeks at the CHU.
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