DNA analysis of all positive Faroese corona tests

Researchers at the Food, Veterinary and Environmental Agency (HS) are preparing to carry out genome sequencing of the 187 positive corona tests in the Faroe Islands.

By collecting detailed information about transmission patterns and analysing data on who has infected whom, the study seeks to identify which virus variants circulate in the Faroes.

”It has been established that there are many different coronavirus variants,” says study leader Debes Hammershaimb Christiansen.

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“We will take a closer look at each of the variants present in the Faroes to see if some are more infectious and more pathogenic, or more likely to cause disease, than others. Then we will try to find out if there are any variants in the DNA that make one virus strain more infectious and pathogenic than another.”

Reading the genetic code of the novel coronavirus can provide valuable information about how quickly the virus mutates.

“Some new studies have suggested that the coronavirus does not mutate as much or as often as for instance the common flu, which means that researchers may not need to produce a new coronavirus vaccine every year, which is necessary for the flu because it mutates more frequently.”

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The ultimate aim of the study, explains Christiansen, is to contribute to the international search for a COVID-19 vaccine.

A genome sequencing of the virus will give the researchers a clearer idea of how to design a vaccine, which particular features of the virus to target and how they can attack as many variants as possible.

“Once we have identified the virus variants that circulate here in the Faroe Islands, this information will be passed on to research teams abroad to help in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.”

Translated by prosa.fo