MIGHT BE HEADED. REPORTER: TWO DOCTORS HERE AT UNMH ARE CLOSELY ANALYZING THE LAB RESULTS OF COVID-19 PATIENTS IN OUR STATE AND THEY HAVE FOUND THAT MANY OF OUR FIRST INFECTIONS WERE TRAVEL-RELATED COMING OUT PLACES LIKE EUROP AND NEW YORK.>> WE’VE BEEN DOING GENO SEQUENCING ON SARS-COV-2 POSITIVE SAMPLES THAT WE’VE OBTAINED HERE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IN NEW MEXICO. REPORTER: TRACKING COVID-19. WHERE THE VIRUS HAS BEEN, AND WHERE IT MIGHT BE GOING.>> IT CONFIRMS A LOT OF WHAT WE SUSPECTED INITIALLY IN THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SERVING AS A MAJOR DRIVER IN THE INITIAL SPREAD OF THE VIRUS. REPORTER: UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HOSPITAL DOCTORS RECEIVED ABOUT 80 POSITIVE COVID-19 CASES, AND HAVE COMPLETED GENETIC SEQUENCING ON ABOUT 48 OF THEM.>> THE STRAINS THAT WE’RE SEEING IN NEW MEXICO ARE MORE SIMILAR TO THE STRAINS COMING OUT OF EUROPE AND THE STRAINS COMIN OUT OF NEW YORK, THEN WE ARE SEEING COMPARED TO SOME OF THE STRAINS OR SOME OF THE GENOM SEQUENCES THAT WE’RE SEEING FROM CHINA. REPORTER: DOCTORS SAY EVERY POSITIVE CASE IS RELATED TO A DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, BECASUE STRAINS MUTATE OVER — BECAUSE STRAINS MUTATE OVER TIME.>> WE HAVE SOME THAT ARE RELATED TO UTAH AND WASHINGTON. IT IS THIS CONFLUENCE OF MULTIPLE, I GUESS WE WOULD CALL THEM INTRODUCTIONS COMING INTO THE STATE. REPORTER: AND THESE DOCTORS AREN’T THE ONLY ONES DOING THIS, THEY ARE PART OF A NATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES AND PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS WORKING TO TRACK THE DISEASE.>> WE’RE KIND OF COMBINING MODELING EFFORTS IN ORDER TO HELP PROVIDE OUR POLICY MAKERS, AND PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS WITH MORE INFORMATION TO HELP THEM GUIDE US THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC. REPORTER: THE DOCTORS TELL ME THEY WOULD LIKE TO ANALYZE ALL COVID-19 CASES IN NEW MEXICO BUT THAT WILL DEPEND ON FUNDING. REPORTING IN ALBUQUERQUE, MARISSA ARMAS, KOAT ACTION 7 NEWS. DOUG: DOCTORS SAY HAVING THE GENETIC SEQUENCING OF DIFFERENT COVID-19 STRAINS, WILL HELP
Where did the COVID-19 cases in NM come from?
For the first time, KOAT is learning more about where the COVID-19 cases in New Mexico came from. Doctors at the University of New Mexico Hospital are closely analyzing the lab results of COVID-19 patients in our state, and they’ve found that many of our first infections were travel-related, coming from places like Europe and New York. “We’ve been doing genome sequencing on SARS-CoV-2 positive samples that we’ve obtained here from the department of health in New Mexico,” said Dr. Darrell L. Dinwiddie. “When we get those complete genome sequences, of the RNA of the virus, we can then compare those sequences to genomes from around the country and around the world that other researchers have been sequencing.”Doctors received about 80 positive cases and have completed genetic sequencing on about 48 of them. “It confirms a lot of what we suspected initially in the importance of international travel serving as a major driver in the initial spread of the virus,” Dr. Daryl Domman said. Doctors said every positive case is related to a different geographic location, because strains mutate over time. “We have some that are related to Utah and Washington state, so it’s this confluence of multiple introductions coming into the state,” Domman said. Currently New Mexico doesn’t have any cases directly associated with China. New Mexico doctors are also not the only ones doing this research. They are part of a national consortium of research universities and public health departments working to track the disease. “We’re kinda combining modeling efforts in order to help provide our policy makers, and public health officials with more information to help them guide us through this pandemic,” said Domman. “It’s been absolutely vital to help in the global fight against COVID-19. So it’s been amazing to be a part of. We’re not out of the woods yet, and so, we’re just happy to be a part and contribute in anyway that we can.”Domman and Dinwiddie said they’d like analysis all the COVID-19 cases in New Mexico, but that will depend on funding. They said having the genetic sequencing of different strains, will help doctors developing therapies and vaccines.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
For the first time, KOAT is learning more about where the COVID-19 cases in New Mexico came from.
Doctors at the University of New Mexico Hospital are closely analyzing the lab results of COVID-19 patients in our state, and they’ve found that many of our first infections were travel-related, coming from places like Europe and New York.
“We’ve been doing genome sequencing on SARS-CoV-2 positive samples that we’ve obtained here from the department of health in New Mexico,” said Dr. Darrell L. Dinwiddie. “When we get those complete genome sequences, of the RNA of the virus, we can then compare those sequences to genomes from around the country and around the world that other researchers have been sequencing.”
Doctors received about 80 positive cases and have completed genetic sequencing on about 48 of them.
“It confirms a lot of what we suspected initially in the importance of international travel serving as a major driver in the initial spread of the virus,” Dr. Daryl Domman said.
Doctors said every positive case is related to a different geographic location, because strains mutate over time.
“We have some that are related to Utah and Washington state, so it’s this confluence of multiple introductions coming into the state,” Domman said.
Currently New Mexico doesn’t have any cases directly associated with China. New Mexico doctors are also not the only ones doing this research. They are part of a national consortium of research universities and public health departments working to track the disease.
“We’re kinda combining modeling efforts in order to help provide our policy makers, and public health officials with more information to help them guide us through this pandemic,” said Domman. “It’s been absolutely vital to help in the global fight against COVID-19. So it’s been amazing to be a part of. We’re not out of the woods yet, and so, we’re just happy to be a part and contribute in anyway that we can.”
Domman and Dinwiddie said they’d like analysis all the COVID-19 cases in New Mexico, but that will depend on funding. They said having the genetic sequencing of different strains, will help doctors developing therapies and vaccines.
