According to media reports, as of July 8th, the latest World Health Organization data shows that, except for China, the confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been up to more than 11.58 million, and the deaths have reached more than 530,000. Globally, the number of confirmed cases and deaths affected by the outbreak is much higher than the previous day. For infectious diseases, pathogen diagnosis is the key technology, and how to make it better is the focus of epidemic prevention and control.
In the testing of COVID-19, NAT is by far the most reliable means of screening and confirmation, and it is also the most commonly used. In NAT, the PCR instrument is undoubtedly the key testing tool for COVID-19. However, the nucleic acid testing process is easy to be contaminated. The entire operation needs to be in a strict experimental environment to ensure the accuracy of the data results and avoid missing or error testing of suspected cases. Therefore, it is imperative to build a standard PCR laboratory.
It is understood that "PCR laboratory" is also called gene amplification laboratory. PCR is a rapid DNA amplification technology with high sensitivity, specificity, and rapidity. When there are very few viruses in a certain pathogenic microorganism, the traditional detection method is difficult to detect, but by using fluorescent quantitative PCR method, the DNA fragment can be amplified to more than a million times, thereby improving disease diagnosis technology. PCR is the abbreviation of Polymerase Chain Reaction. It is a molecular biology technique used to amplify specific DNA fragments. It can be regarded as a special DNA replication in vitro. Through the DNA gene tracking system, it can quickly grasp the virus content in the patient's body, and its accuracy is as high as nanometers, which provides a reliable test basis for clinical treatment. The standard PCR laboratory is divided into four areas, namely n1. reagent preparation area, n2. sample processing area, n3. nucleic acid amplification area, n4. product analysis area.
Recently, the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China held a national video conference, in which it was clearly proposed that all the disease control institutions at and above the county level and the general hospitals at or above second level should be reformed in a timely manner to form nucleic acid testing capability.
The failure of local public institutions to meet the demand for testing capacity is only temporary. Independent medical laboratories can enrich their testing capabilities while giving full play to their rich concepts of testing management and operation, as well as their experience in regional coverage, so as to integrate into the construction of the national team's nucleic acid testing capacity, take advantage of the opportunity and build on the momentum.
On June 15, the PCR laboratory of Beijing Puren Hospital was officially opened. At 18:00 on the same day, the first batch of 90 people's Novel Coronavirus nucleic acid test results were submitted, which became another helpful tool for the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Dongcheng District.
On June 21, the Clinical Gene Amplification Test Laboratory (PCR Laboratory) of Beijing Nuclear Industry Hospital officially passed the acceptance of the expert group of Beijing Municipal Health Commission. Since then, Beijing Nuclear Industry Hospital has become a medical and health institution with nucleic acid testing capabilities in Beijing. The laboratory will be put into use in accordance with the relevant epidemic prevention requirements of Beijing in order to help Beijing win the battle of epidemic prevention and control.
At present, the situation of epidemic prevention and control in China is still grim. In the face of complex and changeable epidemics, we plan ahead and establish PCR laboratories in order to provide the most powerful technical support for "the testing of people who should or want to get tested". We will concentrate our superior forces on nucleic acid testing, provide timely and accurate test results for clinical diagnosis and treatment and epidemic prevention and control, so that the Novel Coronavirus has nowhere to escape. The establishment of PCR laboratories will help the current epidemic prevention and control, and provide strong technical support for winning the battle against COVID-19.
