The Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health can independently determine the strains of coronavirus

The Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has got equipment for sequencing (identifying new strains) SARS-CoV-2 samples detected in Ukrainian patients. The sequencer capacity is 400 samples per month.

“I am convinced that the presence of a laboratory that can conduct sequencing is a matter of national security. We finally have it. Now we will be able to quickly respond to biological threats by clearly identifying the source. Until that, Ukraine sent the samples for sequencing to WHO laboratories, which took some time, and now we will be able to respond quickly”, said Health Minister Viktor Liashko.

Also, for laboratory centers in each region, there were purchased at the expense of budget funds:

- 58 automatic sample preparation stations for RNA extraction (isolation from the virus for further analysis);

- 55 devices for detecting the pathogen (amplification);

- 4 robotic and automated systems that automatically ensure the execution of the RNA extraction stage and the introduction of an amplification mixture with minimal involvement of laboratory specialists.

We remind that the draft budget for 2022 has already included almost half a billion hryvnias for equipment for bacteriological and physico-chemical laboratories of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.