A team of scientists has completed pre-clinical trials and is now gearing up for human testing .
India could soon have a new vaccine for the mutating COVID-19 virus to keep the virus at bay. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have been working on developing a heat-tolerant vaccine that can offer protection against different strains of SARS-CoV-2 which includes both current and future variants. The team has completed pre-clinical trials and is gearing up for the human testing of the vaccine candidate.
According to scientists the evolving nature of the virus and different mutations, they are not sure if the current vaccines can be helpful. Raghavan Varadarajan, Professor at the Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU) has been leading this research project in collaboration with Mynvax, a startup since the beginning of the pandemic.
After analysing various proteins found in the virus, researchers selected two parts of SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein – the S2 subunit and the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) – for the new vaccine. The S2 subunit is highly conserved – it mutates much less than the S1 subunit, which is the target of most current vaccines. Scientists have also known that the RBD can provoke a strong immune response in the host. The team created a hybrid protein called RS2 by combining these two components, read a statement released by IISc.
The researchers used mammalian cell lines to study the expression of the hybrid protein. “The protein showed very high levels of expression, and initially I thought that the experiment was not working properly,” said Nidhi Mittal, PhD student at MBU and first author of the study. Further research by Mittal showed that this protein potentially be produced in large quantities.
The team then tested the effects of the protein in both mice and hamster models. They found that the hybrid protein triggered a strong immune response and provided better protection when compared to vaccines containing the whole spike protein.
Varadarajan told TNIE that RS2 has better coverage compared to other vaccines. This could be India’s first homegrown vaccine for the JB.1 variant and others as Covaxin developed for the mutation has become inactive. “Post clinical trials the vaccine can be administered to everyone, starting with healthy human bodies. So far in our animal testing we have not seen any side effects but will have to wait for results on humans,” added Varadarajan.
The RS2 antigen can also be stored at room temperature for a month without the need for cold storage, unlike many vaccines in the market which require mandatory cold storage. This would make the distribution and storage of these vaccine candidates much more economical.
Varadarajan said the vaccine candidate can be tailored to incorporate the RBD region of any new variant of SARS-CoV-2 that might emerge. Its high levels of expression and stability at room temperature can greatly reduce production and distribution costs, making it well-suited for combating COVID-19. “If need be, the vaccine can also be updated as and when the mutation develops over the years,” he added.
Perhaps October 1, 2022, turned out to be a red-letter-day for the Mangalurean community in Canada when Canada’s Prime Minister thanked Dr Dorothy Rego BSc, MSc, PhD, MPH in his letter and when she received a prestigious Yeomen Service Award 2022 from the Canadian Canara Vision Inc (CCVI) in recognition of her remarkable contribution in the field of Scientific Research, Public Health and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada.
Dr Dorothy Rego, an immunologist, microbiologist, and public health professional has worked in the field of science for over 15 years. Enormously passionate about science, Dr Rego is especially committed to focusing on the needs and health of others and the most vulnerable.
Message from Prime Minister of Canada
Originally from Gurpur-Kaikamba in the suburbs of Mangaluru, she currently resides in Brampton with her husband, Ronald Rego and two children, Seneca and Roysten. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Botany, Zoology and Chemistry from St Agnes College, Mangaluru in 1991 and Master of Science in Microbiology from Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru in 1994. Dorothy also successfully completed her Master’s cum Doctorate (PhD) in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Ottawa in 2008 and MPH (Master of Public Health) from the University of Guelph in 2017.
Dr Rego’s areas of expertise includes disease surveillance, vaccine implementation, gender equality, tobacco control, women’s empowerment, maternal child health, cancer research, HIV prevention, food fortification, anaemia reduction and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. She has 7 peer reviewed publications in highly influential American, British, and Indian journals and an impressive 5 scientific reports and 21abstracts published to add to her already remarkable portfolio. As a scientific researcher, she has worked for Health Canada, Peel Public Health, Global Affairs of Canada, and the Gates Foundation.
Dr Rego was part of the leadership team of Peel Public Health’s response to COVID-19 pandemic. She played a crucial role in conducting high quality synthesis of evidence which focused on reviewing the existing evidence and disseminating the evidence to decision makers in the implementation of public health interventions and policies.
Pre-pandemic, Dr Rego worked with WHO (World Health Organization) where she conducted a comprehensive review addressing policy recommendations for anaemia reduction strategies among women of reproduction age in low- and middle-income countries at a global level. Deployed to Africa for HIV work, she took great pride in working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in implementing HIV self testing program among homosexual men to enhance timely diagnosis of HIV and linkage to care.
Prior to her migration to Canada, Dr Rego worked for reputed institutions in India such as CMC Vellore and JIPMER Hospital in Puducherry. Her work with children under 10yrs for a vaccine implementation study at JIPMER Hospital was the impetus for her increasing passion in public health.
An amazing and highly intellectual personality like Dr Dorothy Rego does not need any further introduction. After the Award ceremony, I had the unique opportunity to toss a few questions at her as the representative of Daijiworld.com.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. On behalf of Daijiworld.com, I am privileged to interact with you. Tell me how it feels to bag a prestigious Award from a renowned non-profit organization like CCVI for your remarkable contribution to the field of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science.
A. First and the foremost, I thank God for blessing me with wisdom, humility, and grace. These blessings have enabled me to scale mountains and face challenges. I also thank the CCVI for recognizing my work and bestowing me with the Yeomen Service Award. I am humbled and deeply appreciative of this prestigious award. I admit that my contributions to the field of Scientific Research, Public health and Social Science are still on a small scale; however, I view the award as a way forward to do and be more. This recognition has spurred and inspired me to learn and implement more in my fields of expertise.
Q. Can you please tell us something about your parents, siblings, and your childhood days in the picturesque town Gurpur-Kaikamba in Mangaluru, India?
A. I was raised by my father, late Dominic R J D’Lima. My grandmother, late Lucy D’Lima along with my paternal aunt, Leena D’Lima gave me an amazing childhood. I have only one younger sibling, Don John D’Lima who is an Advocate in Mumbai. My weekend nature walks in the lush greenery of Kaikamba along with my dad in the picturesque Gurpur aroused my curiosity about all things related to science. I still cherish the joys of playing some country games like lagory, kutti donne, jibli and mane aata along with 4 other kids in the neighborhood. It was an unforgettable childhood filled with setbacks, love, adventure, mystery, tragedy, loss, and joy.
Q. Can you please tell us something about your early schooling?
A. My journey into my professional development began from the century old Pompei higher primary school in Gurpur under the leadership of the late Sr Patricia. With great pride, I say that I learnt my first alphabets in this Kannada medium school. With immense gratitude, I mention that Sr.Laetita Bath from the Bethany congregation held my tiny hand and hovered it around the cement doodle to make the correct impression of my first Kannada alphabet. My heartfelt appreciation to Sr.Laetita Bath for her dedication and patience. From 1976 to 1983, I made a lifetime of memories from throwing stones at mango trees, picking Sapodilla aka chikoo’s during recess, chasing snakes in the lush green landscape, drawing well water using a bucket and rope to care for school garden and shedding tears to ‘Punya Koti’ narrative by Lucy teacher. An even more historic memory was walking as a class to meet Mother Teresa at Rosa Mystica grounds in 1980. I was awed by that meeting and inspired by Mother Teresa’s selfless work to do the same in my capacity and give back to the community and people amongst who I grew up. Among all, I did not want to attend classes. My beloved Lucy teacher would narrate this well to the readers in this platform. My teachers (the two Jacintha’s, Lucy, Gracy, Jerry, Jayanthi, Sr Jonett, Sr Shanthi, Sr Selma, the late Stella and Late Natalia,) put heart and soul in imbibing me with wisdom and knowledge. Even though this school’s structure was in a dilapidated condition in the mid 70’s, it did not deter me in carving a niche in building my career.
My next journey began in the Bethany run Rosa Mystica High School (RMHS) in Gurpur under the leadership of the late Sr Mediatrice. RMHS gave me an outstanding education with the best teachers, and they were: Sukanya, Leena, Agatha, Josephine, Yuvaraja, Sunder, Shabaraya, Felix, Shreedhar, Sr Wilma, Sr Helmina, Sr Afflicta, Sr Metilda, the late Sr Olivia and the late Sr Mediatrice. My science teachers inspired me with their extra ordinary teaching skills in Pythagoras Theorem derivation and taxonomical classifications which helped me to further refine my passion to progress in the field of biological sciences.
Q. Can you please tell me how your pre-university / university studies at India’s renowned St Agnes Institutions helped you to achieve the success that you are enjoying today?
A. In 1986, I entered the gates of St Agnes College as a PUC student in the science stream with absolutely zero English speaking skills. St Agnes College under the leadership of Sr Aloysius welcomed me with open arms, making me feel like her own as I came from a background different from most English-speaking students. St Agnes College was so open, welcoming, and reassuring that soon after my first term, I forgot about the past and plunged into new challenges. Over the next 5 years, I grew up intellectually both in wisdom and knowledge. I made friends who remain close to my heart today. I met teachers who shaped me in many ways, and as friendly and accommodating as they were, they always had best the interests for me. I bow with respect to all the signatures of my teachers (Maria, Noeline, Usha Nalini, Leela, Sr Beatrice, Saramma, Bhasker, Nagaveni, the late Kamala Devi, Sr Prem, Leo, Prema, Ronald, Saraswathi, and the late Mohan) imprinted on my lab records which I call my personal treasures. These lab records are maintained in mint condition in my ancestral home. The memories of my education such as the dissection tables of Zoology, the color reactions in chemistry labs, the Botany herbariums followed by robust record work where I tried to grab as many experiences and opportunities as I could are still fresh in my mind. The gallery style classrooms, where curriculum was intense, and marks were earned not handed out. It was here that I was introduced to the art and science of Biology which later metamorphosed me into a microbiologist, immunologist and public health professional with several degrees, awards, and accomplishments with exciting work experiences.
Q. Say something about your family and what motivated you to upgrade your educational credentials in Canada? Did you receive any inspiration from anyone or did anyone play a key role in your professional development?
A. My husband Ronald Rego migrated to Canada in 1996 from Dubai in search of greener pastures. I married Ronald in 1998 and joined him later that year in Canada. When we got married, it was my plan to upgrade my educational credentials. We are blessed with two children, 19-year-old daughter, Seneca and 16-year-old son, Roysten. Both children were born in Ottawa and these children were products of my graduate school in addition to my thesis. We currently reside in Brampton.
In my professional development, I credit my dad as being my single greatest influencer followed by my husband. They are both my heroes. My dad had only my best interest at heart. While growing up I had too many why questions to my dad, most of them were related to science. He was like an encyclopedia for me in an era when technology was absolutely zero. My dad reiterated to me several times what it meant to be a woman in the society and the vulnerability associated with being a woman. My dad insisted that women needed to be empowered with highest level education, dream an exciting career, and reach out to others.
My other hero stepped into my life after marriage but when I expressed my desire to upgrade my educational credentials, my husband whole heartedly not only encouraged and supported me but also accepted me as his student wife. He worked extremely hard to make ends meet while I took my backpack and went to the University as a student. In the late 90’s to early 00’s, there were not many options to specialize in public health in Canada, therefore I was left with specializing in basic sciences with an MSc/PhD in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Ottawa. When Canada opened doors for public health in 2003 after the SARS crisis, I was already halfway through my MSc/PhD programme and I did not want to make a detour to public health. A few years later, it was a turning point in my life, which I call falling in love but with global public health. I decided to make 3-point turn into international public health and wanted another degree, Master’s in Public Health. When I expressed my desire, my husband whole heartedly supported me again. I became his student wife again in my mid 40’s. I am indebted to these two men and will forever be grateful to their selfless love and support.
Q. Because of your outstanding intellectual and service-oriented qualities, we look up to you as the most successful contributor in the field of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada. Could you tell us the secret behind your success?
A. This entire journey is akin to sailing through a storm and finally surviving the storm to reap the fruits in different continents. There have been turbulent times in this entire journey, but I persevered through all the challenges and triumphed. If I reflect on the journey, I can’t answer how I managed to endure and conquer. Sometimes, I worked too hard and sacrificed my sleep. There were times I stood up to myself to alter the challenges into enriching, rewarding and gratifying experiences. I always believed in myself and had immense confidence in my abilities. Overall, I was vibrant, full of energy, determined with a strong will power, courageous, focused, and confident. These qualities are the secrets behind my success.
Q. Dr Rego you were part of the leadership team of Canada’s Peel Public Health’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Could you please tell us what was your role in the implementation of public health interventions?
A. COVID-19 pandemic was a rapidly evolving science and the public health professionals must always be current with science to deliver best interventions for the betterment of the community. It was quite a challenge for us. In the first phase of the pandemic, my role included genomic surveillance to conduct a landscape analysis to identify the emerging variants of concerns circulating in the community. I worked extremely hard with 12-hour rotational shifts consistently to keep the Peel community safe. I quickly transitioned to Mass vaccination Program (MVP) in phase 2 of the pandemic. In MVP, I provided high quality synthesis of evidence which focused on reviewing the existing evidence and disseminating the evidence to decision makers in the implementation of public health interventions and policies. My efforts on identifying knowledge gaps in evidence led to the prioritization of COVID-19 vaccine to high-risk occupational groups in some settings in the Peel region. Also, I provided evidence-based guidance documents to the process management team which facilitated the smooth execution of mass vaccinations in the Peel region. In addition, I closely monitored the reported Adverse Effects Following Immunization (AEFI) that occurred from COVID-19 vaccination and reported these incidents to the regulatory bodies for further follow up.
Q: I learned from various media reports about your unique contribution to the field of Public Health and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada. Can you please share some of them with a few details?
A. I will use one each example from India, Africa, and Canada to answer this question.
In 1995, I started a very challenging job at the JIPMER hospital in Puducherry, India. JIPMER is the pride of India. It is a government of India enterprise with a state-of-the-art facility and provides free health care. I was appointed to work with children under 10yrs for a vaccine implementation study in Pondicherry. It is so unfortunate that many of these kids in this coastal belt did not even live to celebrate their 10th birthday. They would succumb to some respiratory infections. Therefore, the goal was to visit the schools, collect throat swabs samples from kids to identify the culprit and then determine the next steps. My work began with calling out the tenders, purchases, school visits, sample collections, lab research and report writing. I saw high rates of vaccine preventable diseases among children, lack of advocacy among the public, low vaccine uptake and extreme poverty. This realization ignited a fire in me to give my best to the betterment of health through scientific research. My mentor, Dr Reba Kanungo did an excellent job of mentoring me from onboarding to recharging me whenever I was distracted and unfocused. Her motivational words included, “You are a perfect fit for public health, you work very well in the community, take it forward”. That is where it all began, the passion for public health. My pranam to Dr Kanungo, ‘Guru Devo Bhava’ – teacher is God.
In 2018, I was deployed to Africa. I took great pride in working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in implementing HIV self testing program among homosexual men to enhance the timely diagnosis of HIV and linkage to care. This project was truly the best time of my life. My responsibilities were to assess implementation of HIV self-testing program among Men having Sex with Men (MSM) in Kenya. The stakeholders included MSM community, peer educators, outreach workers, health promoters, Kenyan Ministry of Health officials and scientists (infectious disease specialists, mathematical modelers, epidemiologists, and medical anthropologists). The key tasks were to perform an evidence review, administer focus group discussions and quantitative data collection in three counties called Kisumu, Kiambu and Mombasa in Kenya. This data was used in conducting a research design workshop in Nairobi, Kenya which highlighted the planning, organizing, designing, and delivering HIV self-testing program in Kenya. At the end of the research design workshop, I took the lead in the preparation of scientific reports, evidence briefs, research ethics submissions, grant application and a publication in British Medical Journal. It was a very time sensitive programme with numerous complex deliverables, but I was successful in meeting all the deliverables.
During pre-pandemic time, when I was working with Nutritional International in Ottawa, I had a stint with World Health Organization (WHO) in conducting a commissioned review. Our team addressed policy recommendations for anaemia reduction strategies among women of reproduction age in low- and middle-income countries around the world. This 78-page review included an emphasis on nutritional and non-nutritional causes and contributing factors for anaemia. I conducted a secondary data analysis on micronutrient supplements, iron deficiency, anti-natal care, iron folic acid supplements, dietary diversity, food security, deworming, access to water and sanitation to reduce transmission of helminthic infections and use of insecticide treated nets for malaria vector control using data from complex databases. My experience felt as if I was travelling through the 132 countries and conducting landscape analysis to summarize the key issues related to anemia. In this review, we addressed many gaps in and problems with anaemia reduction efforts, identified and described various components required for successful evidence-informed anaemia reduction programmes, and included recommendations for programme implementers and decision-makers, with links to multiple resources and tools that can be contextualized to each country’s situation. This work is published in WHO website. This is my biggest triumph in my contributions to public health.
Q. That’s incredible! Now you have achieved yet another milestone. The Prime Minister has a special mention of you in his letter to CCVI. If I’m correct you are the first Mangalurean to receive such an honor. Don’t you feel so proud to receive such recognition from the Prime Minister of Canada?
A. I was delighted to learn that our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, having learned of my enormous and valuable input into various areas of science has sent an eloquent and wonderfully written appreciation letter to me. This letter will always be treasured by me. A classmate who I am very close to and now residing south of the border joked, “I love your Prime Minister Trudeau but now I envy that you have his letter”. I am humbled to receive this letter of appreciation from our dear Prime Minister Trudeau. And this is yet another incentive to carry forward my plans and goals.
Q. What are your future plans in the sector of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science?
A. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my roots and my birthplace. My childhood, hometown, the schools I attended nurtured me. These are my greatest treasures in life. As I said in the beginning, this award is a way forward. I am looking for avenues and opportunities to give back to the community such as implementing some public health programmes which can benefit the most vulnerable women and children in Mangaluru. My focus will be mostly concentrated on maternal child health. I am currently putting together the resources and doing the groundwork to bring on board the stakeholders to take a deep dive into the program. I want to leave a strong legacy behind. This is my dream, and I am excited to realize these dreams.
Q. What is your message to the younger generation, especially to our community youth?
A. I reiterate the same words of wisdom imparted to me by my dad. Empower yourself with highest level of education, harmonize your available resources, align your goals, build a network, envision an exciting career, and help others. Apart from your core skills, find a hobby or hobbies that motivate you and help you grow as these should be your natural therapeutic release. In my own life, gardening in the summer and cooking authentic Mangalurean food are my natural remedies to relieve my stress. In a nutshell – always dream high, stay ambitious, seek opportunities, work hard, do your due diligence, be honest, do not lose hope and always pray. When you excel in life, stay humble and down to earth, but don’t forget your roots. Give back to the community when you get an opportunity to do so. This is my message to the youth of our community.
Q. What is your message for the people of the west coast in India who are settled in Canada?
A. We should be thankful that we are living in a beautiful multicultural country called Canada. We, the people of the west coast of India, should take pride in keeping our mother tongue, heritage, tradition, and our culture alive. We all have inherited rich traditions that we grew up with, whether they are daily habits, festivities, music, sports, celebrations, or food. We must preserve our traditions by continuously practicing them in the country where we currently reside while adopting new traditions and habits.
A huge heartfelt thanks to you Gerry baab and to Daijiworld for giving me an opportunity to go down the memory.
When the pandemic hit, IISc professor Soma Das and his team began working on a VLP for SARS-CoV-2.
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has developed and tested a novel virus-like particle (VLP) – a non-infectious nanoscale molecule that resembles and behaves like the virus but does not contain its native genetic material – in a study published in Microbiology Spectrum.
When the pandemic hit, IISc professor Soma Das and his team began working on a VLP for SARS-CoV-2. They artificially synthesised a VLP with all four structural proteins – spike, envelope, membrane and nucleocapsid. “The main challenge was to express all four structural proteins together,” said Harsha Raheja, PhD student at MCB.
Such VLPs have several uses and can also potentially be developed into a vaccine candidate that can trigger an immune response in our bodies, Das said, adding that they can also be used to reduce the time taken to screen drugs that can fight the virus. When the team injected a high dose of VLPs into mice in the lab, it did not affect the liver, lung, or kidney tissues.
Testing immune response To test its immune response, they gave one primary shot and two booster shots to mice models with a gap of 15 days, after which they found a large number of antibodies generated in the blood serum of the mice. These antibodies were also capable of neutralising the live virus, the team found. “This means that they are protecting the animals,” explained Raheja.
The researchers have applied for a patent for their VLP and hope to develop it into a vaccine candidate. They also plan to study the effect of the VLP on other animal models (using the expertise of SG Ramachandra, one of the inventors), and eventually humans. Raheja said they have also developed VLPs that might be able to offer protection against the more recent variants, like Omicron and other sub-lineages.
Company obtained manufacturing licence from CDSCO and is awaiting clinical validation of kit, which uses gold-standard RT-PCR method.
A human monkeypox virus (MPXV) multiplex RT-PCR detection kit was released by Minister for IT and BT and Science and Technology C.N. Ashwath Narayan on Friday.
Developed by NeoDx Biotech Labs, the MPXV kit is designed for specific detection of the Central African (Congo Basin) and West African Monkeypox virus clades. The kit uses gold-standard Taqman chemistry-based RT-PCR method.
The company has obtained the manufacturing test licence from Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and is waiting for clinical validation of the kit, according to a press release.
The kit was released on the occasion of the foundation-laying ceremony for the “Research and Training Unit for Rare Diseases” held at the Centre for Human Genetics (CHG) in Bengaluru.
The CHG, under the guidance of the founding Director, Professor H. Sharat Chandra, for the past 20 years, has been providing high quality genetic services to patients with rare diseases from all over Karnataka and other states, the release said.
Meenakshi Bhat, Associate Director at CHG said nearly 35,000 families with genetic disorders have been diagnosed and counselled in the past 15 years. “The genetic laboratories at CHG provide diagnostic testing in around 5,000 patients per year. The majority of these patients are from government hospitals in Karnataka and these services are provided free to BPL and other eligible patient families and at cost to others,” she said.
The Research and Training Unit for Rare Diseases is an extension of the present CHG building. This 40,000 sq. ft extension will have three floors in which comprehensive genetic counselling facilities for around 2,500 families with rare disorders will be evaluated annually, she said.
Union Health Ministry’s flagship telemedicine service has registered more than three crore teleconsultations till now.
The state government has been awarded third place in the country for in number of medical consultations (25,03,995) through the eSanjeevani platform at the Ayushman Bharath Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWC) since its inception in December 2020. It is a doctor-to-doctor telemedicine service to provide general and specialised health services in rural areas through the ‘Hub-and-Spoke’ model.
The award was given in the ‘Strengthening Healthcare to the Last Mile’ category to mark the 4th anniversary of the setting up of AB-HWCs. The Union Health Ministry’s flagship telemedicine service eSanjeevani has registered more than three crore tele-consultations and the state government has provided medical consultations to 47,68,123 people in total as on April 15.
The state stands third in the category where patients are provided the service at the HWCs after Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
University of Mysore has presented this year’s Award of Excellence to Dr. Mahadesh Prasad, Professor in Department of Biochemistry, Mahajana Post Graduate Centre, Mysuru, in recognition of his research work in “vaccine development for Corona viruses and Flavi viruses”.
A mathematical model that predicts how antibodies made by COVID-19 vaccines protect against symptomatic infections has been developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) in Australia.
A paper about the study was published in Nature Computational Science.
A 19-year-old engineering student has single-handedly invented a prototype of a mini-oxygen plant that produces up to 94.5 per cent pure oxygen and can be used in homes, hospitals as well as industries.
Called OxiPlant, the device works on the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process.
It took Tejas P Karanji, a first-year student of electronics and communication engineering at PES University, all of eight months to conceptualise, design, fabricate and develop the product.
“Globally, all other test kits for Omicron are either made for gene dropout or mutation specific detection. Omisure is the first test kit combining both.”
In a major and global breakthrough towards cutting down procedural delays in genome sequencing to ascertain the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV2, Dr V Ravi, former head of the Department of Neurovirology at National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences and Head, Research & Development, Tata Medical & Diagnostic Centre, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, and his team have developed the world’s first test kit, Omisure, that can detect the Omicron variant by combining S-gene target failure (SGTF) and S-gene mutation amplification (SGMA).
We are the support network for the Covid warriors in the forefront. We make their lives easy by giving the details they want to act upon.
The Karnataka State Covid-19 war room on Friday received the national award under the category of using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in management of the Covid-19 at the 24th national conference on e- governance in Hyderabad. War room head Munish Moudgil, who received the award, told TNIE that the facility is an e-governance solution for effective management, integrated response and approach.
