The quick test kit shortens the testing time to 70 minutes instead of four hours. (Photo courtesy of )
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Scientists from the School of Biotechnology and Food
Technology under Hanoi University of Science and Technology have developed a
novel (nCoV) test kit the laboratory environment, which provides results in 70 minutes instead
of four hours like the current method.
The
group, with more than ten members and led by Dr Le Quang Hoa, in collaboration
with Innogenex International Technology Science Ltd Company, made the test kit
using a Reverse Transcription Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP)
technique.
The
innovation which amplifies the ribonucleic acid (RNA) of pathogens to
identify the virus has made Vietnam the first country to successfully develop
RT-LAMP test kits for nCoV.
Currently,
it takes about four hours to get the results if doctors use the standardised
testing method called Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR),
which is applied worldwide and recommended by the World Health Organisation
(WHO).
The
Vietnamese scientists started to conduct studies less than one month ago, on
January 15, when China announced the gene characterisation of nCoV.
“The
advantage of the new technique is that it is a simple analysis and does not
require complicated equipment,” Hoa said.
“It
shortens the testing time and simplifies the analysis process.”
According
to the doctor, a test costs about 350,000 VND (15 USD). The price to produce a
RT-PCR test kit is 1 million VND (44 USD).
The
product has not been tested on the real virus but when it has been tested on
samples, the result is accurate, Hoa said.
Because
of its short time and simple process, the kits can be applied at district-level
healthcare facilities.
“We
hope that the health ministry and the Ministry of Science and Technology will
support the research team to verify the product and apply it in testing the
virus in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hue
Central Hospital has become the first healthcare facility in the central region
to be able to test nCoV.
Earlier,
the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology based in Hanoi; centres for
disease control based in Hanoi, Da Nang and Quang Ninh; Pasteur Institutes in
HCM City and central Khanh Hoa province confirmed they could test the new
strain of coronavirus.
After
learning the technique from the Pasteur Institute in HCM City, doctors of the
Hue Central Hospital conducted the first test on February 9.
The
hospital has invested in more medical supplies and equipment to be able to test
100 more samples in four to five days.
According
to hospital leaders, testing the virus at the hospital is very important to the
treatment of suspected cases. It helps identify those who test negative for
nCoV, cut the number of quarantined people and reduce pressure on the
hospital’s resources and infrastructure.
The
hospital will conduct the nCoV tests on those who show symptoms of acute
respiratory system inflammation, fever, coughing, shortness of breath; those
returning from infected areas or who have had close contact with patients
or those suspected of infection.
The
central province so far has not recorded any nCoV infection cases.
Vietnam
has so far confirmed 14 nCoV infection cases, nine of them are from northern Vinh
Phuc province. Three of the 14 patients have been discharged from hospital./.
Source: VietnamPlus
