Ulaanbaatar
NGS equipment donated to National Center of Communicable Diseases
Society
Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. On March 3, the World Health Organization and the Australian Government officially handed over the next generation sequencing (NGS) equipment, supplies and reagents to the National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD).
As a result of having this laboratory, it has
become possible to detect new variants of SARS-CoV-2 in a timely manner.
Since the first detection of COVID-19 infection in Mongolia,
more than 4 million tests have been performed so far in the NCCD’s laboratory and
other laboratories. NGS methods were in need to identify the
source of infection and curb the outbreak, said the NCCD experts.
During the hand-over ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister
S.Amarsaikhan said, “We are pleased that the NGS technology introduction at the
NCCD has made it possible to conduct genomic sequencing test for any communicable
disease and verify results domestically. It will play a significant role for having
effective surveillance, taking prompt response and planning social health
interventions properly during the widespread infectious disease,” and expressed
gratitude to the Australian Government and WHO for their support.
Minister of Health S. Enkhbold noted that not only timely detection and characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 and other communicable diseases has been secured, but also the equipment will enable to do more to diagnose non-communicable diseases.
