The key to managing COVID-19, influenza, and other emerging respiratory infections, is more robust and real-time genomic-level insights into circulating strains.
SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) March 23, 2021
As the battle against COVID-19 rages on, virus variants that can spread more easily – or for which vaccines and treatments are less effective – pose one of the most immediate threats. The widely used PCR and rapid antigen tests cannot detect these variants, allowing the virus to evolve in stealth mode. Early identification and monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 will help public health officials and researchers better understand the evolving virus. Today, IDbyDNA is announcing significant enhancements to its fully automated data analysis suite for the combined IDbyDNA and Illumina, Inc. Respiratory Pathogen ID/AMR Target Enrichment Panel (RPIP). IDbyDNA’s Explify RPIP data analysis now provides improved SARS-CoV-2 detection, automated full-length genome information, including lineage designation, and annotation of mutations across the genome, delivering results in both human and computer readable formats.
“The public health community is in a race against a rapidly evolving virus to track variants that may be more easily transmitted and less responsive to available vaccines, so the world can get ahead of it,” said Dr. Robert Schlaberg, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of IDbyDNA. “The key to managing COVID-19, influenza, and other emerging respiratory infections, is more robust and real-time genomic-level insights into circulating strains. This pandemic has underscored the need for new tools to detect, surveil, and monitor emerging pathogens, inform public health responses, reduce transmission, and develop effective prophylaxis and treatment.”
In addition to new reporting capabilities for SARS-CoV-2 lineage and mutations, IDbyDNA’s Explify RPIP data analysis offers antiviral resistance detection and genomic surveillance of influenza A virus along with automated detection of 280 other viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens. The Explify RPIP data analysis solution also predicts resistance to 60 antimicrobials based on over 1,200 associated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) markers supporting surveillance for antimicrobial resistance. With its extensive capability, Explify RPIP data analysis provides important information on co-infection and insight into AMR, which may shed light on the varying disease severity observed with COVID-19 and many other infections. Dr. Schlaberg added, “More than ever, universally applicable, scalable solutions for pathogen and AMR detection are needed to provide comprehensive and reliable information to local health care professional and global public health officials.”
IDbyDNA’s Explify RPIP data analysis is available in five different AWS zones, including US, Canada, EU, UK, and AP-Australia, enabling the global public health and research communities to use the application in their local AWS zones, providing the flexibility, scalability and ease of use required for a global surveillance tool. For more information about the solution, visit http://www.idbydna.com/RPIPVariantsFlyer/
About the Respiratory Pathogen ID/AMR Target Enrichment Panel
The Respiratory Pathogen ID/AMR Target Enrichment Panel includes respiratory pathogen ID/AMR panel, with detection for 1200+ AMR markers, 180+ bacteria, 50+ fungi, 40+ viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, and 10 internal controls. RPIP also features DNA and RNA library prep and enrichment, IDT for Illumina DNA/RNA UD indexes, tagmentation, plus data interpretation reports (powered by the IDbyDNA Explify® Platform).
About IDbyDNA
IDbyDNA is revolutionizing the use of clinical metagenomics to improve health by decoding the unknown. IDbyDNA’s product suite delivers unparalleled data analytics and industry-leading expertise to support clinical laboratories with actionable infectious disease testing and pathogen surveillance. By profiling tens of thousands of microorganisms from any specimen with a scalable and intuitive approach, IDbyDNA offers greater depth and transparency for better identification of pathogens in order to accelerate triage and improve public health. For more information, visit http://www.idbydna.com or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Vimeo or YouTube.
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