The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday it is sending 200 kits to U.S. and international labs that want to test for the new virus from China.
Officials said the kits can detect the novel coronavirus from upper and lower respiratory specimens — saliva and mucus, basically — within four hours.
“Our goal is early detection of new cases and to prevent further spread of the coronavirus,” CDC Director Robert R. Redfield said. “Distribution of these diagnostic tests to state laboratories, U.S. government partners and more broadly to the global public health community will accelerate efforts to confront this evolving global public health challenge.”
Each kit can test 700 to 800 patient specimens, according to the CDC.
Additional kits are being prepared and will be shipped through the International Reagent Resource (IRR), distribution system the CDC uses to dispatch lab gear domestically and globally.
Global health systems, Chinese doctors and nurses, businesses and nonprofits are on high alert for the coronavirus, which can cause acute respiratory distress and organ failure.
The World Health Organization on Thursday reported 28,060 confirmed cases and 564 deaths in China.
Outside China, there have been 225 cases spread across 24 countries. A man in the Philippines died after returning from China.
WHO reported fewer new cases in its daily count Thursday than in the outbreak’s previous 24-hour cycles. It does not mean the outbreak has peaked or turned a corner, however.
“It’s right now too early to make predictions on numbers … but at least it’s not going in the wrong direction,” said Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s emergencies program.
WHO has requested $675 million to combat the virus, especially in places that have weak health systems and may be unprepared to respond to a case at one of their facilities. Officials also want to protect doctors and nurses who are face-to-face with patients.
“The last thing we need at this point is the front-line workers becoming victims themselves of this disease,” said Dr. Ryan said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation made a “generous contribution” to the fight and that Japan offered $10 million.
The coronavirus was traced to a live animal market in Wuhan, China, in December, though there are a lot of unknowns.
Mr. Ghebreyesus said scientists still don’t know the virus’ natural reservoir — where it typically lives and reproduces — and there is no vaccine or effective therapeutic for it yet.
“To put it bluntly, we’re shadow boxing,” he said. “We need to bring this virus out into the light so we can attack it properly.”
Scientists and public health agencies will gather for two days in Geneva, Switzerland, next week to discuss the source of the virus and its genetic sequence. They will share biological samples and explore ways to fast-track diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.