Việt Nam successfully develops quick coronavirus test kit
HÀ NỘI — Scientists from the School of Biotechnology and Food Technology under Hà Nội University of Science and Technology have developed a novel coronavirus (nCoV) test kit 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 Lê Quang Hòa, 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 Việt Nam 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.
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,” Dr Hòa said. “It shortens the testing time and simplifies the analysis process.” According to the doctor, a test costs about VNĐ350,000 (US$15). The price to produce a RT-PCR test kit is VNĐ1 million ($44). The product has not been tested on the real virus but when it has been tested on samples, the result is accurate, Dr Hòa 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.
Source:https://vietnamnews.vn/society/592056/viet-nam-successfully-develops-quick-coronavirus-test-kit.html
