Abu Dhabi: Dubai’s COVID-19 Command and Control Centre (CCC) has announced UAE's first full genome sequencing of the COVID-19 virus, Bahrain News Agency reported.
The successful sequencing of the virus from a patient in Dubai was performed by researchers at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU).
“The genome of the virus causing COVID-19 (known as SARS-CoV-2) consists of 30,000 genetic bases or letters," the centre said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Many countries have started reporting genomic sequences of the virus from patient samples.”
Professor Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, MBRU’s Provost, Member of the Emirates Scientist Council and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Group for the CCC said that the aim is to fully sequence viral samples from 240 patients with COVID-19 across various age groups and at different time points of this pandemic.
“We will also collect information on the severity of disease in our patients which can help us understand if different strains of the virus are associated with different levels of disease severity," he added.
The sequencing study is led by an experienced research team which includes experts in virology, epidemiology, public health, genetics, and clinical research.
The team is also working on other research questions related to COVID-19 and will continue to build collaborations with research institutions in the UAE and abroad.
The COVID-19 Command and Control Centre was established by His Highness Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council to enhance collaboration across the healthcare sector and ensure alignment with the Dubai Government’s efforts to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak.
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