The Ministry of Public Health announced the state-owned Dr. Defilló National Laboratory now has equipment that can identify the genetic code to differentiate between one strain and another in the case of the Covid-19. Until now, suspect samples had to be sent to the US Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Now, health authorities will be able to identify any strain of unknown diseases that may occur. The equipment will enable local epidemiologists to better track the virus and monitor infections.
Dr. Isaac Miguel, technical assistant director of the Dr. Defilló Laboratory, said that the equipment was purchased after the World Health Organization recommended that countries acquire the capacity in house to sequence coronaviruses to determine the circulating strains. He said the equipment will also make possible determining the anti-retroviral resistance in the case of HIV.
Read more in Spanish:
Ministry of Public Health
19 January 2021