India to undertake mega study of covid-19 samples to help prepare for future pandemics

New Delhi: The Department of Biotechnology plans to undertake a study of thousands of samples and clinical material collected during covid-19 to help Indian scientists understand the susceptibility of individuals and changes in metabolic activity that will be useful in fighting future pandemics.

The department will give the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), a consortium of 54 laboratories, the mandate to carry out the study, a government official aware of the matter said.

“Now there is a plan to conduct retrospective studies as we have collected a large number of samples during the pandemic,” the official said.

The objective is to understand the science behind the infections - the immunological basis for the susceptibility of different individuals, how viral evolution takes place, metabolic activity and their association with specific changes that occur in infected people even today.

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According to the World Health Organization, 10-20% of the people infected by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes covid, may go on to develop symptoms that can be diagnosed as long covid. This is defined as the continuation or development of new symptoms three months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, with these symptoms lasting for at least two months with no other explanation.

While the symptoms of long covid include fatigue, shortness of breath and cognitive dysfunction, over 200 different symptoms have been reported, WHO said.

“We are in discussions with all the members in the scientific community who were involved in the gathering of such data to develop a framework for conducting studies. The idea is to make useful contributions from the available data and prepare for future pandemics,” the official said.

Retrospective studies

Covid-19 cases in India have dropped to all-time low levels for more than a year. India reported 98 active covid-19 cases as of 28 October.

About 330,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes have been sequenced and analysed by INSACOG labs since they were set up in December 2020 with the mandate to ascertain the status of variants of interest and variants of concern in the country.

The labs also had to establish sentinel surveillance and surge surveillance mechanisms for early detection of genomic variants and determine their presence in samples collected during super-spreader events and in areas reporting an increasing trend of cases/deaths.

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While most countries have already initiated retrospective studies, India’s plan is to repurpose the samples in the best possible way.

“The proposals coming in with different ideas take the initiative forward… we have created a network of people who do not want this network to break. This INSACOG network is to do bigger activities and keep the people engaged and working together,” the official said.

During the pandemic, the DBT research institutions (iBRIC) participated actively in the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) sentinel, hospital and wastewater surveillance initiatives as well as other initiatives which resulted in collection and storage of biospecimens related to COVID19.

Based on several brainstorming meetings and discussions held between iBRIC scientists, experts and officials of DBT, a program is being developed to undertake comprehensive studies on COVID19 which can provide novel insights on disease severity, associated microbiology and its sequelae as well as develop translational innovations.

“The pandemic had devastating effects on human health and well-being and will likely continue to do so. India witnessed large number of infections during the pandemic which could be remarkably managed by efficient vaccination strategy and effective public health management. However, the country also witnessed remarkable variation in the infections and the COVID-19 disease. While we have gained some insight on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 disease, much more is yet to be elucidated which can help us understand these aspects as well as use the information to prepare us for large outbreaks in future,” said a DBT official.

Some of the major areas where important fundamental scientific information from the country is lacking are host response and its regulation in severe disease, variation in cellular and biochemical impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection and post COVID-19 sequelae, changes in microbiome and associated infections in COVID-19 and development of diagnostic and therapeutic innovations.

“Leveraging on the biobanks of samples collected during the pandemic by iBRIC institutions, the proposed multi-disciplinary programme aims to generate information in these areas which may help in improved knowledge and management of COVID-19 disease. Given the challenges of post-COVID19 sequelae which will continue to haunt public health, this information will help us to understand the biology of these long-term complications and find ways to reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by them. Finally, with predictions of future large outbreaks like that of the pathogen X, all this will help us to be better prepared for tackling the same right from the beginning,” the DBT official added.