The room contains the ‘weapon’ to attack the Covid-19 epidemic

The field Covid-19 laboratory of the Military Medical Academy deployed in Bac Giang has a capacity of up to 50,000 samples per day.

The large-capacity “field” Covid-19 laboratory at the Bac Giang Center for Disease Control has been fully installed with the cooperation and transfer support of the Military Medical Academy (Hanoi). This area has an area of ​​​​about 200 m2 and was built quickly in 3 days. The center consists of 8 specialized rooms. In which, 2 laboratories meet biosafety level 2. The most dangerous room is the initial sample processing room. This is the workplace of many officers from the Military Medical Academy, Bac Giang Center for Disease Control and volunteer technicians. Responsible for operating the laboratory is Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. BS Ho Huu Tho (Head of Department of Gene Technology and Cell Genetics, Military Medical Academy). According to Dr. Tho, the special feature of this laboratory is that the SARS-CoV-2 virus detection process is highly sensitive, with the cost savings being reduced by nearly half compared to traditional methods. At the same time, the center has the capacity to test tens of thousands of people every day. According to Dr. Tho, this is the world’s first gene technology, using artificial intelligence to analyze PCR results to detect SARS-CoV-2 pathogens (known as AIMS RT-PCR technology). The sensitivity of this method was evaluated against an in vitro RNA standard set for a detection threshold of 7.2 copies/reaction, nearly 7 times lower than the WHO recommended procedure, when evaluating under the same experimental conditions (50 copies/reaction). This study was clinically evaluated on 142 positive cases, 1,034 negative cases for SARS-CoV-2 and 14 other respiratory viruses. The sensitivity and specificity of the method were both 100%. More importantly, the procedure was successful in mixing 100 patient samples in a single real-time reaction without compromising sensitivity. As such, this is a simple, super-sensitive and potential test method for large-scale screening of SARS-CoV-2 with cost savings many times over. According to Dr. Tho, this method is like a weapon we switch from a defensive state to an attack against the Covid-19 epidemic. To communicate with the staff working in the lab, the commander had to use a walkie-talkie system because the windows were always foggy because of the mist and Chloramin B disinfectant. Besides, the technician was wearing clothes For protection, entering the lab will be called by the number corresponding to the job they are undertaking. After each opening to receive samples, the room is sprayed with disinfectant to avoid the risk of infection. All generated waste is also collected and treated according to regulations of the Ministry of Health. To maintain testing capacity, nearly 100 cadets of the Military Medical Academy are divided into small teams working for 8 hours, with 3 rotating teams each day to ensure that the laboratory is always open 24 hours a day. Tran Hoang Minh (student of Military Medical Academy) and friends relax before the shift. He is in charge of the work of separating and taking samples, so the risk of infection is very high. However, Minh feels proud to work at this center. “The laboratory capable of large-scale testing is a very powerful weapon in the fight against the epidemic. With mobilized human strength, strong weapons and high determination, I believe the epidemic will be quickly controlled.” male students share.