HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.24.21 Re_ Whole Genome Sequence (WGS) testing at Public Health Lab
From:Lucero, Debra
To:York, Danette;Alpert, Bruce;Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;Cook, Robin;
Hironimus, Patrizia;Kimmelshue, Tod;Lucero, Debra;Paulsen, Shaina;Pickett, Andy;Reaster, Kayla;Ring,
Brian;Ritter, Tami;Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug
Cc:Kim, Sang
Subject:Re: Whole Genome Sequence (WGS) testing at Public Health Lab
Date:Thursday, June 24, 2021 5:20:18 PM
Thank you for the analysis, Danette. It's much appreciated. Good decision.
$¤¡± ,´¢¤±®
Butte County Supervisor District 2
269 E. 3rd St., Ste. 100
Chico, CA 95928
Appointments: 530-891-7535
Mobile:
From: York, Danette <DYork@buttecounty.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2021 4:56 PM
To: BOS <BOS@buttecounty.net>
Cc: Kim, Sang <skim@buttecounty.net>
Subject: Whole Genome Sequence (WGS) testing at Public Health Lab
Good afternoon,
At Tuesday’s board meeting Supervisor Lucero asked if it would be feasible for the Butte County
Public Health Lab to perform the WGS testing for COVID variants. Staff at the Lab has been looking
into this and it is not an option for us for the following reasons:
While there is funding that has come through that could be used for purchasing equipment,
buying testing reagents and even bringing on the necessary additional staff; the return on
investment is not there for Butte County since:
o To perform WGS there are unique, pre-determined designated room/space for each
step of the assay process. The lab facility itself would have to expand and go through
a significant remodel in order to insure the proper Quality Assurance of WGS
specimens, just to perform the assay.
o In addition to the needed room for the assay process a minimum of three additional
pieces of lab equipment would be needed and there is no physical space in the lab to
put the equipment
Additional information includes:
o A rough estimate for the additional equipment is about $156,000
o A rough estimate for the cost per specimen is $300 - $700 not including staff time
o A minimum of 2 additional Public Health Microbiologists would need to be added
depending on the volume of specimens
o There is also a large data/bioinformatics aspect to WGS that IT/IS would have to figure
out – there is an extremely large amount of data generalized from the WGS assay
that would need to be stored and backed up – that would require a Bioinformatics
Laboratory staff member be brought on to be dedicated to the analysis of the
produced data
o And, of course training would need to take place for all staff
After careful review and consideration, the need to remodel and expand the size of the lab, in and of
itself makes performing WGS in Butte County Public Health Lab difficult at best, practically
impossible. However, please know that we are actively participating in WGS without performing the
test locally. Specimens from Butte County are being sequenced so we are aware if/when we have a
variant in the community. OptumServe, Quest and other large laboratories also send specimens to
the CDPH lab for WGS as well.
Respectfully,
Danette York, MPH, CPH
Public Health Director
BUTTE COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH
202 Mira Loma Drive | Oroville, CA 95965
T: 530.552.4000 | D: 530.552.3820 | | M: 53
COVID-19 Call Center: 530.552.3050 Open 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, M-F
“Nationally Accredited, 09/13/17”
FACEBOOK | TWITTER
COUNTY OF BUTTE E-MAIL DISCLAIMER: This e-mail and any attachment thereto may contain private,
confidential, and privileged material for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, copying, or
distribution of this e-mail (or any attachments thereto) by other than the County of Butte or the intended
recipient is strictly prohibited. If you are NOT the intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately
and permanently delete the original and any copies of this e-mail and any attachments thereto.