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The Servet and the Clinic will be ready in less than two weeks to sequence the virus to differentiate the different strains.
Aragón is preparing to be able to detect if the Brazilian and South African variants - or any other strain of the coronavirus - enter the Community. Like the British one, they are more contagious mutations than those that have now been registered, and there are also some doubts about the effectiveness that vaccines may have on them. Or, at least, some of the vaccines. This makes them more dangerous, despite the fact that the diagnosis for the patient is similar regardless of the variant to which the virus belongs.
The Brazilian and South African variants of SARS-CoV-2 have not yet been detected in Aragon, but some cases have already been recorded in Spain. The first was detected last Friday in a traveler from Brazil who arrived in Barajas, while there is evidence of two cases of the second in Vigo and Barcelona.
The Health Department of the Government of Aragon is working to detect these variants, within two weeks at most. The necessary material is being purchased and specialized personnel are being trained to be able to carry out a complete sequencing of the virus that will allow them to be identified, both at the Miguel Servet hospital and at the Clinic. Although specific material must be purchased, some devices are already available in these hospitals, because they are already used for some tests, for example, of newborns.
With the British variant, it is not strictly necessary to apply this complex sequencing technique, since it is possible to have reliable indications of its presence simply with a ThermoFisher brand diagnostic kit. This is what the CIBA COVID Diagnostic Support Satellite Laboratory is doing, where there have already been 15 tests compatible with this British variant, which indicates that there is community transmission of this strain.
Until now, to sequence the virus it was necessary to send the tests to Madrid, with results that took several days or even weeks to arrive. Now, when this technique is finished being implemented in the two main hospitals in Aragon, it will gain in agility and the number of tests analyzed, so it will be possible to have a more accurate x-ray of the SARS-CoV-2 variants that are circulating. by the Community.
