NHS staff will soon be able to get checked for coronavirus in just four hours, thanks to a new test developed by the University of Cambridge. Current tests take up to 24 hours as the samples have t…
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, enabling them to carry out their work rapidly in level 2 facilities, which are more widely available and have less restrictions on their use.
"Now that we are able to inactivate it, we can dramatically improve the turnaround time from swab to result. 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. However, researchers hope to increase the capacity soon. The breakthrough adds to wider efforts to speed up tests and aid the fight against COVID-19.
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