FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUG. 2, 2021

PEKIN, IL – Reditus Laboratories in Pekin identified 347 additional cases of the B.1.617.2 variant — also known as the Indian double mutant variant or the Delta variant — during its sequencing run on July 29. This encompassed 95% of the entire sequenced positives.

Reditus had reported one case discovered via sequencing in May and two cases discovered through sequencing in June and 64 on its sequencing run on July 16. This means that Reditus has identified 414 cases of the Delta variant, said CEO Dr. Aaron Rossi.

Dr. Rossi on Monday said, “The Delta variant has clearly become the dominant strain out of our positive samples.”

The samples sequenced on July 29 were collected from July 2 through July 27. The 347 people were from throughout Illinois, including 30 positives from Bloomington-Normal, 23 from the Peoria area, 25 from the Rockford area, 29 from the Champaign-Urbana area and 100 from the Metro East St. Louis area.

During its sequencing run on July 29 at its lab in Pekin, Reditus tested 367 randomly selected positive COVID-19 samples. The 347 cases of the Delta variant represented 95% of the 367 samples. Among the other variants of concern was the Columbia variant known as the B.1.621.1. Three of those cases were identified during the sequencing run.

Variants are of concern because they have shown to be potentially more contagious and may have potential resistance to the vaccines. The Delta variant, first identified in India and confirmed in the United States in April, is believed to be more transmissible than previous strains of the virus.

Rossi said his goal in sharing sequencing information from time to time is simply to keep the public aware of the spreading variants.

Reditus tests nasal samples collected throughout the country for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) using gold-standard PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing. Reditus sequenced the 364 samples using the Illumina NextSeq, which the laboratory began using earlier this year.

Reditus sequencing data is shared with the Illinois Department of Public Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and GISAID, a global initiative that provides access to genomic data of influenza viruses and COVID-19.

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Reditus Laboratories is a full-service laboratory company with a heavy focus on molecular diagnostics. Based in Pekin, Illinois, Reditus provides top-tier, accurate anatomical and clinical pathology services, including cytology, histology and molecular testing. Reditus is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and is certified by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) program. Additional information is at www.redituslabs.com, as well as on Facebook at Reditus Laboratories and Twitter @ReditusLabs.