Novel Kit To Detect Coronavirus In 15 Mins

With the deadly coronavirus spreading across the globe like wild fire, the Tianjin University of China has come up with a novel kit which can detect the microbe in just 15 minutes.

According to media reports, Tianjin University has developed the kit in collaboration with Beijing Biotech Company. The new virus detecting kit will soon be sent to the health regulator for approval.

The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), Chinese health regulatory body, had approved four test kits on January 26. A kit developed by SunSure Biotech, which could detect the virus in 30 minutes, was one among them.

The coronavirus, rooted from the Wuhan seafood market in the eastern central province of Hubei, has now spread to around 20 countries. Around 99 per cent patients are in China.

Among the countries most at risk of importing coronavirus cases, India ranks 17th, as per the researchers. So far, three coronavirus cases have been detected in Kerala.

According to the researchers, the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi is most at risk, followed by airports in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi.

“The spread of the virus on an international scale is dominated by air travel,” stated the research report.

A person infected with coronavirus may suffer from respiratory problems, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.