The novel coronavirus diagnostic test developed by Public
Health England (PHE) is being rolled out to
laboratories across the UK starting on Monday 10 February
2020. The increase in diagnostic capacity from one laboratory
in London to 12 labs over the coming weeks, will accelerate
the country’s testing capabilities.
The UK was one of the first countries outside China to have
assured testing capability for the novel coronavirus.
At PHE’s
laboratories in London, it has the capacity to process
samples from more than 100 people a day.
Now, to ensure that the country is prepared for further cases
and to speed up the time from a sample being taken to a
result in the lab, the test will be carried out by trained
scientists across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland. This increases testing capacity to more than 1,000
people a day for England.
When a clinician suspects novel coronavirus, they take
samples from the nose, throat and deeper respiratory tract
and send them for laboratory testing.
Using the diagnostic test, scientists can look for evidence
of the presence of any type of coronavirus and then hone in
on specific genetic clues that identify the novel coronavirus
associated with this outbreak.
A confirmatory test will continue to be conducted
at PHE’s
Colindale laboratories.
Professor Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director, Public Health
England, said:
Once China confirmed that they had identified a novel
coronavirus, Public Health England was ready to test
potential cases in this country. We have now trained
scientists in labs across the UK to conduct the specialist
test – ensuring that we are well prepared should we begin
to see an increased number of cases across the country.
The roll-out to other parts of the UK is the fastest
deployment of a novel test to PHE and NHS labs in
recent history, including in the Swine flu pandemic in
2009.
In addition to processing samples from suspected cases in
this country, PHEis now working as a
reference laboratory for WHO, testing samples from
countries that do not have assured testing capabilities.
Background
The laboratories are in the folllowing locations:
- Scotland (2 laboratories)
- Northern Ireland
- Wales
- London
- Cambridge
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- Manchester
- Leeds
- Newcastle
- Southampton
