In addition to its mandated COVID-19 testing (RT-PCR) for PhilHealth covered patients, the Philippine Genome Center’s Clinical Genomics Laboratory (CGL) / COVID-19 Testing Lab will open its Drive-thru & On-foot Swabbing Operations on October 12, 2020, Monday. The drive-thru and on-foot service will cater to private testing requests for elective cases. Elective swabbing applies to individuals without symptoms or those requiring testing as part of routine clearance. It will include clearance purposes such as for work, travel, and/or medical clearance (i.e. dental, surgical, etc.).
Contact Exposure Algorithm
The Philippine Genome Center’s COVID-19 Lab (Clinical Genomics Laboratory) developed a Contact Exposure Algorithm designed following the latest community guidelines of the WHO and CDC. The chart is intended to help inform the UP System Community with regard to conducting one self in the event of potential exposure. This algorithm may serve as reference for other communities, institutions, and/or offices.
PGC SARS-CoV-2 Bulletin No.2: Three Possible Routes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Philippines
Majority of the Philippine submissions (18 of 23) were collected in the month of March, wherein except for one sample which clustered with isolates from Shanghai, China, all others were observed to group into clades linked to the outbreak in the cruise ship, M/V Diamond Princess, moored in Yokohama, Japan in early February 2020. Later that month, passengers and crew members of this cruise ship representing various nationalities including Filipinos, Indians, and Australians were repatriated to their home countries.
PGC SARS-CoV-2 Bulletin No.1: Philippine Genome Center Reports Detection of the D614G Variant of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in the Philippines
COVID-19 or the Coronavirus Disease 2019 is caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus, the genome of which is a single-stranded positive sense RNA that is about 30,000 bases long. It contains 11 genes and several regions have been known to be immunogenic, including different parts of the Spike (S) protein, the Nucleocapsid (N) protein, as well as the Membrane (M) and Envelope (E) proteins, which have therefore been targeted for vaccine development.
Secondary Metabolism in the Gill Microbiota of Shipworms (Teredinidae) as Revealed by Comparison of Metagenomes and Nearly Complete Symbiont Genomes
Shipworms play critical roles in recycling wood in the sea. Symbiotic bacteria supply enzymes that the organisms need for nutrition and wood degradation. Some of these bacteria have been grown in pure culture and have the capacity to make many secondary metabolites. However, little is known about whether such secondary metabolite pathways are represented in the symbiont communities within their hosts.
COVID-19 Safety Tips & Precautions
PGC shares its COVID-19 laboratory safety tips and precautions through the illustrations below.
Give to UP hosts #PGCParaSaBayan donation campaign
The Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs Give to UP channel supports the Philippine Genome Center’s call for donations campaign: PGC Para sa Bayan—the call for donations aims to provide support for PGC’s COVID-19 Testing Laboratory (Clinical Genomics Laboratory) and will facilitate the procurement of essential lab supplies, additional equipment, and/or other necessary costs related to testing. The genome center hopes to maintain its operations and continue to increase its capacity as a testing laboratory.
DNA Sequencing Core Facility resumes its services on July 1, 2020
Walk-ins will not be accommodated. Please email the lab and arrange drop-off appointment within the provided schedule and wait for confirmation prior bringing your samples to PGC.
PGC Core Facility for Bioinformatics releases six (6) genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from Philippine samples between March 22-28, 2020
The Philippine Genome Center (PGC) thru its Core Facility for Bioinformatics (CFB) releases today to the global community through the GISAID database six (6) genomes of the SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Philippine samples taken in Metro Manila between 26 to 28 March 2020.
PGC’s Clinical Genomics Laboratory certified to conduct testing for COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) by Real-Time PCR
Upon completing and passing the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine’s (RITM) proficiency testing for SARS-CoV-2 detection by Real-Time PCR, the Clinical Genomics Laboratory (CGL) of the Philippine Genome Center is now certified to perform independent testing for COVID-19. The certification is released as of April 23, 2020 by the RITM-DOH.