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Genome surveillance another weak link in Indonesia's coronavirus fight, experts warn
The only way to detect emerging variants of the virus is through whole-genome sequencing, a process of determining the complete DNA sequence from positive samples using certain equipment that is uncommon in laboratories in Indonesia.
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Before you go: Medical workers take swab samples from passengers at Pasar Senen Market in Central Jakarta on Dec. 21, 2020. Railway company PT KAI requires passengers to show a negative antigen rapid test or PCR test to travel during the Christmas and New Year holidays. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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OVID-19 continues to spread across Indonesia, but the government has yet to pay serious attention to the detection of new variants of the novel coronavirus, which experts fear may further impede the country’s already-encumbered fight against the pandemic.
Neighboring countries that have been able to keep their outbreak relatively under control — Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand — have detected a new variant of the virus, B117, which is believed to be more transmissible and was first identified in Britain. Malaysia and the Philippines have also detected this variant, alongside more than 50 other countries.
The only way to detect emerging variants of the virus is through whole-genome sequencing, a process of determining the complete DNA sequence from positive samples using certain equipment that is uncommon in laboratories in Indonesia, which has yet to report the UK variant or the two other major, highly transmissible variants.
Experts have said that genomic surveillance must be scaled up to adequately track virus mutations, which occur naturally as they try to adapt to their hosts in order to survive, and they can turn weaker or stronger. Any discovery of emerging variants, scientists said, could determine the steps the government must take in containing the outbreak, as they could pose higher transmissibility and render vaccines being developed less effectively.
By Thursday, Indonesia has submitted 322 complete genomes — or about 0.03 percent of the total COVID-19 cases reported in the country — to GISAID, a German-based nonprofit online database for sharing viral genomes.
Read also: Indonesia needs more intense genome surveillance to detect new virus variant:Minister
Over 480,000 genomes globally have been submitted to the database, 43 percent of them by the United Kingdom.
