By September, about half a million of the devices will be in British hospitals. From next week, British hospitals will begin using a radically new method of testing for the coronavirus. The British government hopes this will help relieve pressure on the health system before winter. New testing methods have also been introduced in several other countries during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Two new instruments are being used in the UK to determine the presence of viral RNA in analyses. Both instruments are capable of processing a sample within an hour and a half. Today, approximately one-third of samples in UK hospitals are tested over 24 hours. The first test, called Nudgebox, analyzes samples in search of viral RNA. Five thousand of these devices will be installed in British hospitals in September. The Department of Health expects each of them to perform up to 15 tests a day in non-laboratory conditions. With their help, it will be possible to test 5.8 million people for coronavirus in two months, before winter sets in.
But that will happen in September. And already next week, almost half a million new devices called LamPORE, developed by Oxfordshire company Oxford Nanopore, will be appearing in London hospitals. These devices are already in use in some London hospitals, but have not yet been widely adopted. LamPORE instruments are produced in two versions – the mobile MinION can be used in the field, for example in an improvised laboratory near the center of a coronavirus outbreak, and can analyze up to two thousand samples per day. The stationary GridION is more powerful, capable of analyzing up to 15,000 samples per day, but cannot be used outside of a full-scale laboratory. At the same time, both devices can diagnose the common flu and distinguish it from coronaviruses.
Britons are now being urged to go out to restaurants and pubs as much as possible to help the economy.
Nick Trigg, BBC health correspondent. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. The number of episodes should remain constant. The end of the story: Advertising for podcasts.
The breakthrough in testing is important for a number of reasons – not just because one of the new devices can also test for the common flu. First, it’s about speed. The fact that tests don’t have to be sent to a laboratory means that testing will be much faster. Today, in hospitals in the UK, 9 out of 10 tests are done within 24 hours. But testing at regional centers, by mail, at home and in mobile labs takes even longer. In these cases, on average, only half of those tested receive a diagnosis within one day. The number of tests will also increase. Today, 300,000 tests are performed in the UK every day, and the target is 500,000. But it all depends on how the devices are implemented. The RNA testing machine will not be available in hospitals until September, and LamPORE is still awaiting regulatory approval. In addition, the government has not yet released complete information about the accuracy of these tests. The testing system is complex and depends on many factors. It involves supply chains that require people to work. If something goes wrong, as our experience with implementing home testing has shown us, the result may not be what is expected.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock is confident that the advent of new Covid-19 testing devices is a “huge step forward” for the healthcare system. It will make it easier for the government to reach its target of half a million daily tests by October. “The new devices will be used, among other places, in schools and neighborhoods where “it is necessary to test people without symptoms in order to understand where the virus is hiding,” he said. “What these devices detect, in addition to Covid-19, is the common flu virus, which will be very helpful in the winter – patients will receive appropriate recommendations on how to protect themselves and their loved ones,” Hancock added. The introduction of rapid testing is welcomed by almost all commentators, but many remind us that this is not the only aspect of pandemic preparedness.
What does the Israeli army do in hotels for Covid-19 patients? Anne Johnson, a professor of epidemiology at University College London, said in an interview with the BBC that testing is just one part of a broader system that should work faster as a whole. According to her, rapid diagnosis is good, but the most important thing is timely self-isolation for those who have symptoms. Sir Paul Nurse, a member of Scientists for the Labour Party and director of the Francis Crick Institute, criticized the government for what he said was a lack of transparency about the pandemic. “We need openness, transparency, accountability and leaders who take responsibility for their decisions,” he said.
It is not only in the UK that new testing methods are emerging. In March, a team of Israeli scientists announced the creation of a molecular test that can process multiple samples at once. Processing takes about 40 minutes. But the method is not yet perfect. Last week, scientists at the Technion, the company that developed it, announced that they are working to increase its sensitivity. BATM Company also announced in March the development of a test kit capable of detecting the virus in saliva using the conventional PCR method used in the majority of COVID-19 tests worldwide. Unlike others, this project has been completed. The company sells it in several countries in the Middle East and Latin America, but it has not yet been certified in the USA and Israel.
Some four million people in the United Kingdom awoke to a new quarantine regime, while countries from the Philippines to Poland report a record increase in infections. The most important information about the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide.