Coronavirus game changers? Hong Kong, Macau universities are developing tests that work in less than an hour
- Slow screening processes have hampered the fight against the coronavirus outbreak
- But teams at universities in Hong Kong and Macau are working on portable, rapid detection devices that offer results in as little as 30 minutes
As researchers and doctors around the world scramble to get to grips with the coronavirus crisis, which has sickened more than 28,000 people, tests that can diagnose the deadly virus in less than an hour are beginning to emerge.
A research team from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said on Thursday it had invented a portable detection device that can give a diagnosis in coronavirus cases in 40 minutes, while the University of Macau is working on a kit that may be able to detect the virus in less than 30 minutes, even at early stages of infection.
News reports coming out of Hubei – the Chinese province at the epicentre of the outbreak – suggest the situation has been made worse by a slow and complex screening system, as well as a shortage of test kits. This has meant many sick patients fail to get a diagnosis and are turned away by overstretched hospitals.
Other cities, such as Hong Kong, are struggling to deal with dozens of screenings a day, as traditional testing methods usually take several hours.
Malik Peiris, chairman of virology at the University of Hong Kong, who has developed a test for the virus, said several research groups were trying to come up with rapid diagnostic tests.