Virginia One Of First States To Use Genetic Coding To Detect COVID-19

Virginia’s State public health laboratory is one of the first in the nation to use genetic technology to help public health officials better understand and track the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen prevention and response efforts. The Department of General Services Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services is using next generation sequencing to genetically decode some Virginia samples that contain the novel coronavirus, SARS-Cov-2, which causes COVID-19. Looking for and identifying the genetic footprint will help public health officials track how the virus is changing and provide insights into how it is being transmitted.