JACKSONVILLE, Fla — We see COVID-19 case numbers rising in our local hospitals, but how many of these cases are the Delta variant? Most hospitals don’t know.
That’s because the state health department only tests a random sample of their own COVID-19 tests and not what is coming into hospitals. Doctors at UF Health Jacksonville says they can't ask the state to test certain cases, either.
So they took the matter into their own hands to find out how widespread the Delta variant is in their patients.
”It’s unsettling," said Dr. Yvette McCarter. She runs the lab in charge of COVID-19 testing at UF Health Jacksonville.
Alongside Dr. Brett Baskovich, director of molecular pathology, they’ve been able to use genetic sequencing to track COVID-19 as it mutates.
“I think that is why the sequencing is so important," McCarter said. "I think about it kind if like you take pictures of your children as they grow to document them changing. I think that is why the sequencing is important because we really need to know. It is great to know when somebody has it because when they’re in the hospital we can treat them appropriately.”
Doctors and scientists at UF Health Jacksonville wanted to figure out how many people at hospital had the Delta variant. In the lab were Baskovich usually does his cancer research. he has helped identify the Delta variant.
They use a machine that looks at all the changes in the genetic sequencing of the current strain to whatever they're testing. The answer comes out on the computer.
“I actually kind of expected it to be 10 out of 10," McCarter said.
Dr. Baskovich found 9 out of 10 samples to be the Delta variant. He says they can’t run every coronavirus sample purely because cost and time, but by doing their own testing they can properly plan.
“Knowing that basically we know everyone needs to be a lot more careful because basically we have something that is basically a lot worse going around the hospital and the community right now," Baskovich said.
It took their team a few weeks to figure out the process. Then the genetic sequencing takes more than 48 hours.
Dr. Baskovich says they’ve only run 10 tests to identify the delta, but they’re ready to do more at the direction of the hospital.