Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen (centre, in black) gives certificates of merit to individuals and the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology for successfully cultivating and isolating the novel (Photo: tuoitre.vn)
Hanoi (VNA) – Tests
for the novel coronavirus (nCoV) could be run at in the near future, said Professor Dang Duc Anh,
director of the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE).
Before transferring the
technology to conduct these tests, the NIHE would set up
training courses and assess infrastructure, especially biological safety
in laboratories, he said.
Deputy Minister of Health Do
Xuan Tuyen noted that the transfer would be conducted only when hospitals had
assessed their infrastructure.
Last week, the NIHE
successfully cultivated and isolated , which causes the acute respiratory disease () first reported in Wuhan City in
China.
The NIHE was now in a position
to master coronavirus testing, said Anh. The work would support epidemic
prevention and control.
With the isolated virus, the
NIHE has started to develop test kits for quick diagnosis.
At present, 22 hospitals are
capable of conducting tests for coronavirus.
The Ministry of Health (MoH)
highly appreciated the cultivation and isolation of the virus, and said it was
a big success.
On February 12, Deputy
Minister Tuyen presented certificates of merits to the NIHE and its six
researchers for their dedicated work.
Vietnam can now
conduct thousands of tests per day if necessary, said Tuyen.
At present, Vietnam was one
of four countries which had successfully cultivated and isolated
the nCoV, besides Japan, China and Australia, according to the MoH./.
Source: VietnamPlus
