Rapid COVID-19 Test Can Identify Which Variant Is Making You Sick

Local scientists develop a new tool that is helping health leaders track COVID-19 spread.

UT Southwestern scientists have developed a test that can identify which variant of the Sars-COV-2 virus has infected a COVID-19 positive patient.

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The test, called CoVarScan, is being used in collaboration with Dallas County Public Health to track several variants at five different hospitals across Dallas County.

Knowing whether the Delta, Omicron, or any other variants have infected a patient can help doctors choose which monoclonal antibodies would be more effective in helping critically ill COVID-19 patients.

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It can also help public health leaders track spread of current and emerging variants.

"For public health tracking variants, it is important to have both speed and accuracy. Our current methods of whole genome sequencing are very accurate, but they can be pretty expensive and can take one to four weeks to return results back, just sort of outside the timeframe in which you'd want to track down any contacts of someone who tested positive. This test is much faster, cheaper and doesn't have to be adapted when new variants come out. It's very helpful in public health for those reasons," said UTSW Assistant Professor of Pathology Dr. Jeff SoRelle.

Dr. SoRelle plans to continue developing CoVarScan as a commercial test and has a pending patent application based on this work.