New coronavirus test developed for frontline NHS workers can diagnose infection in FOUR HOURS, Cambridge researchers claim
- Cambridge researchers were able to deactivate the virus in samples for testing
- They say this means the sample can be studied in a lower security testing facility
- There are more lower security centres so samples can be examined more quickly
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
A coronavirus test has been developed that could see frontline NHS staff screened in just four hours – and it’s already being used in one hospital.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge found a way of ‘deactivating’ the virus so it can be tested in lower-security labs – speeding up the process.
Currently, a COVID-19 test takes a full 24 hours to be completed because samples have to be taken to top security facilities – which are few and far between.
The new test will mean that NHS workers who are having to self-isolate because they may have been infected could return to work more quickly if they test negative.
A coronavirus test has been developed that could see frontline NHS staff screened in just four hours – and it’s already being used in one hospital
It been used on healthcare workers at Addenbrooke’s Hospital – which is part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The test involves taking a nasal swab, similar to existing tests, but the process of analysing the samples is much faster due to more relaxed security measures.
It’s also been used on staff who have been asked to isolate due to potential contact with infected people – but who may not have been infected themselves.
Using a PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) test, scientists extract a minuscule amount of genetic code from the virus and copy it millions of times.
Doing this creates an amount of genetic material that is large enough to confirm presence of the virus.
Professor Stephen Baker at the Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease has found a way of deactivating the virus at the point of sampling.
This enables them to carry out their work rapidly in level 2 facilities, which are more widely available and have less restrictions on their use.
‘PCR tests for coronavirus infection are slow because of the safety requirements necessary for handing this potentially lethal virus,’ said Baker.
‘Now that we are able to inactivate it, we can dramatically improve the turnaround time from swab to result.
The test involves taking a nasal swab, similar to existing tests, but the process of analysing the samples is much faster due to more relaxed security measures
‘This will be extremely useful in helping test NHS frontline staff and helping clarify whether self-isolating healthcare staff are infected or negative, potentially allowing them to return to work.’
Samples are taken using nasal swabs and once the virus has been inactivated, they are sent to the lab and tested. The whole process takes just four hours.
So far, the team has enough reagents, the chemical substances used to detect the virus, to allow them to test 200 samples a day, five days a week, for the next 10-12 weeks.
However, researchers hope to increase the capacity soon, adding to wider efforts to speed up tests and aid the fight against COVID-19.
Last week, a University of Cambridge spin-out company, Diagnostics for the Real World, unveiled a fully automated testing machine which could return a result in just 90 minutes while patients wait.