Omicron Testing Kit News Today

An RT-PCR diagnostic kit called Om to test the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been developed by the CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI).

Om, an indigenous RT-PCR diagnostic kit, is likely to be launched in the second week of February, after it receives a nod from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The kit will cost around Rs 150 and give the test result in around two hours.

Currently the kit that is being used to detect the Omicron variant in India is developed by US-based scientific instrumentation company Thermo Fisher. It uses the S Gene Target Failure (SGTF) strategy to detect the variant.

The testing equipment was created by a team of scientists from the Regional Medical Research Centre for the Northeast, lead by scientist Dr Biswajyoti Borkakoty