With more than 2.5 million cases of COVID-19, India has the third-highest number of cases worldwide. Therefore, higher testing capacity is essential to mitigate the continued spread of the virus. CSIR-IGIB has assessed the ability of Illumina’s COVIDSeq™ research assay for detection of SARS-CoV-2. COVIDSeq, a high-throughput next-generation sequencing-based assay, typically generates results within 24 hours using the NovaSeq™ 6000 Sequencing System and is complimented with the highly accurate and ultra-rapid analysis performed using the COVIDSeq Test installed on a local DRAGEN™ Bio-IT platform. 

CSIR-IGIB has generated data that demonstrated enhanced sensitivity compared to quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) test, with an overall 8-10 per cent increase in diagnostic yield. COVIDSeq confirms the presence of the virus in a symptomatic person while simultaneously sequencing its genome, providing valuable resources for tracking COVID-19. 

The genomic coverage offered by COVIDSeq facilitates the genetic epidemiology and phylogenetic classification of isolates into lineages. This could provide insights into the introduction and emergence of the epidemic which are central to evidence-based approaches to disrupt the spread of the disease.

“The completion of the COVIDSeq validation represents important progress in helping India combat and categorize this devastating disease,” said Anurag Agarwal, Director at CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology. “Illumina’s technology has the potential to greatly expand India’s COVID-19 testing capacity and get us closer to controlling the outbreak.”