Laboratory Test for SARS

The development of a first-generation real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test designed to detect the presence of the coronavirus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has been announced by Focus Technologies, Inc. (Herndon, VA, USA).

Detection of the genomic RNA from the coronavirus associated with SARS is based upon reverse transcription of specific viral genome RNA sequences followed by PCR amplification. The reference laboratory of Focus in Cypress, CA (USA) has begun performing SARS-associated coronavirus testing to help doctors diagnose disease in suspected patients. The methodology was developed by the Bernhard-Nocht Institute in Hamburg (Germany) and described by the World Health Organization (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland). Focus also offers viral culture test methods capable of growing the SARS coronavirus as well as other viral respiratory pathogens.

A positive RT(reverse transcriptase)-PCR result should be interpreted in combination with a patient's clinical presentation along with other diagnostic test results prior to establishing a diagnosis, said Focus. A negative PCR result indicates only the absence of SARS-associated RNA in the sample tested and does not exclude the diagnosis of disease.

"Our accomplishment would not have been possible without the collaboration of the Bernhard-Nocht Institute, which along with the World Health Organization and the (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided leadership in responding to this serious and growing health threat,” said Charles C. Harwood, Jr., CEO and president of Focus Technologies.




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