The ICMR is actively exploring saliva-based test for detection of COVID-19, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday and asserted that no significant or drastic mutation in strains of SARS-CoV-2 has been found in India till now.

During an interaction with his social media followers on ‘Sunday Samvad’ platform , Dr Harsh Vardhan informed them the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been conducting large-scale sequencing of nationally representative strains of SARS-CoV-2 virus collected for several months over different time-points.

Detailed results on mutations and evolution of the virus will be available in early October, he said.

Meanwhile, India’s first CRISPR Covid-19 test ‘Feluda’ that claims to match accuracy levels of traditional RT-PCR tests, with quicker turnaround time has been given nod by the Drug Controller General of India.

“Feluda met the high-quality benchmarks with 96 per cent sensitivity and 98 per cent specificity for detecting the novel coronavirus,” said the joint statement by Tata Group and CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology which have jointly developed the test.

CRISPR is a genome-editing technology to diagnosing diseases.

“The Tata CRISPR test is the world’s first diagnostic test to deploy a specially adapted Cas9 protein to successfully detect the virus causing Covid-19. This marks a significant achievement for the Indian scientific community, moving from R&D to a high-accuracy, scalable and reliable test in less than 100 days. The Tata CRISPR test achieves accuracy levels of traditional RT-PCR tests, with quicker turnaround time, less expensive equipment, and better ease of use. Moreover, CRISPR is a futuristic technology that can also be configured for detection of multiple other pathogens in the future,” the statement added.

Tata described it as a ‘Made in India’ product that is “safe, reliable, affordable, and accessible”