Reditus Laboratories identifies additional cases of Delta variant

Posted on June 23, 2021
Dr. Mike Sgambelluri, Reditus research scientist, working with the Illumina NextSeq technology. (Photo courtesy Reditus Laboratories)

By Neil Doyle

PEKIN – A Pekin-based laboratory has identified two additional cases of the Delta COVID-19 variant, which was first identified in India.

During a sequencing run on June 17 at its lab in Pekin, Reditus Laboratories tested 369 randomly selected positive COVID-19 samples. Among the variants identified were 181 of the B.1.1.7 lineage, better known as the UK (United Kingdom) variant; 151 of the P.1 (Brazilian) variant; and two of the B.1.617.2 (Indian double mutant or Delta) variant.

Reditus CEO Dr. Aaron Rossi says of the two samples that included the Delta variant, one person lives in Central Illinois and one lives in Michigan.

Variants are of concern because they are potentially more contagious and may have potential resistance to the vaccines.

“There is concern as to whether the vaccines are as effective against the Delta variant,” said Rossi.

Reditus sequenced the 369 samples using the Illumina NextSeq, which the laboratory began using earlier this year.

The labs sequencing data is shared with the Illinois Department of Public Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and GISAID, a global initiative that provides access to genomic data of influenza viruses and COVID-19,

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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