A new variant of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported last November 24th 2021, variant B.1.1.529. On the 26th of November 2021, WHO designated the variant B.1.1.529 a variant of concern, named Omicron, on the advice of WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE). It is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible compared to other variants, including Delta. It is also not yet clear whether infection with Omicron causes more severe disease compared to infections with other variants.
In an effort to continue helping on the battle against this pandemic, the company Vitro S. A. has carried out a detailed in silico analysis and determined that the kits: SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection Kit (MAD-003941M); FLU-COVID RT-PCR Kit (MAD-003942M), Respiratory Flow Chip Kit (MAD-003939M), and SARS-CoV-2 variants RT-PCR kit (MAD-003947M) that we currently commercialize worldwide, are not affected by the set of mutations and deletions detected in this new Omicron variant. Therefore, these kits can still be used to detect the infection with SARS-CoV-2 including the most recent cases infected with this new variant.
Furthermore, the SARS-CoV-2 variants RT-PCR kit (MAD-003947M) is able to identify the Omicron variant. We have done a detailed in silico analysis against sequences in the GISAID public database and confirmed that our kit can properly identify this new variant.
The Omicron variant has the 69-70del mutation of the S gene and doesn´t have the 3675-3677del mutation of the ORF1ab gene. This pattern of mutations makes possible the identification of this variant. Confirmation must then be performed by sequencing the sample.
Vitro S.A. is committed to working on innovative and useful research to develop tools to help battle this pandemic worldwide.
