Vietnam has full capacity to perform COVID-19 diagnostic testing: official

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long speaks at the meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Hanoi on February 24. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has and enough kits to perform
diagnostic tests for the virus SARS-CoV2 that causes COVID-19, said Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen
Thanh Long in a meeting on February 24.

The country
now has 10,000 provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) with
the accuracy similar to those in other countries, he told a meeting of the national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control in Hanoi.

The test kit
involves real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) so
it is highly sensitive and effective, he said.

WHO has
transferred standard technique for detecting the novel coronavirus for three
qualified medical facilities in Vietnam – the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh
City, the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang and the Central Institute of Hygiene
and Epidemiology in Hanoi, according to the deputy minister.

These
facilities then have cooperated with WHO to transfer the technique and required
equipment to 22 medical laboratories, whose staff has also received relevant training. The labs
are now capable of producing reliable test results, he said.

Regarding a
12-grade schoolgirl in Phu Loc, Thua Thien-Hue who died after suffering a
week-long fever, cough and shortness of breath, the symptoms similar to those
of the , Deputy Minister Long said her body fluid tested negative with by the Hue Central Hospital and the
result was confirmed in the second testing by the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi
Minh City.

He noted that
in some special cases, the Ministry of Health will request tests to be
performed by at least two facilities to ensure the accuracy./.