SA at cutting edge with repository of information about disease.
It The genomic surveillance found that many countries sequencing SARS-CoV-2 genomes are sharing only a fraction of them in public repositories — and many sequences are missing important information.
For South African researchers, sharing vital data is important and the country is in the top category when it comes to performing routine genomic surveillance and making the results available. She told the Sunday Times that having pertinent information in a single resource will help researchers and clinicians to understand how genetics predisposes people to infection and how their bodies will react.
“The database currently consists of more than 30 publications encompassing more than 100 genes. The database is updated frequently and many more published papers are currently being curated for addition,” said Pepper.