3 ms·
it could be easy to find out. omicron has a very characteristic signature in the PCR test (a missing band) that I imagine makes it possible to do a retrospecti
by dnautics 5y ago
it could be easy to find out. omicron has a very characteristic signature in the PCR test (a missing band) that I imagine makes it possible to do a retrospective analysis if you have good data records.
- ErikCorry 5y agoDoesn't it share that missing band with Alpha though? There's not much Alpha around these days, so it's a good signal, but if you go back in time that would confound your search.
- dnautics 5y agoI don't know, I wasn't aware of that (I am not an expert, just someone that reads slightly-more-scientific-than-mainstream-media dispatches, and can understand them having done a ton of molecular biology). If you can pont me to that I'd love to be enlightened.
- ErikCorry 5y agoAlpha (aka b.1.1.7) causes S-dropout on the PCR test: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.24.20248814v1 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.24.20248814v... Omicron also causes s-dropout: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-59460252 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-59460252