The accelerated method of testing for the presence of coronavirus developed by the Russian military differs from PCR studies on the enzymes used. Andrey Kuznetsovsky, deputy head of the branch of the Central Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia about this on Wednesday, January 19.
"Our method is analogous to PCR studies, but differs in the enzymes used. With a PCR test, the analysis itself takes at least an hour, and taking into account the preparation - up to three hours. The method we have developed ensures the detection of coronavirus infection within 30 minutes from the moment the material is collected," he said.
According to Kuznetsovsky, the reliability of the method reaches at least 95%. As it will be implemented in medical institutions, and statistics will be accumulated, this indicator will be adjusted. The kit works with equipment used in PCR tests, which allows it to be used in clinical diagnostic laboratories of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Health, the deputy head of the branch of the Research Institute added.
In the near future, diagnostic laboratories of military medical institutions will be equipped with a set of CoviGen-LAMP reagents, he stressed, adding that special courses were organized on the basis of the 27th scientific center of the radiation, chemical and biological protection troops, and the training of the first group of specialists began on January 17.
As Herman Lopukh, a doctor of clinical laboratory diagnostics at the Kirov Military Medical Academy, noted in an interview with Izvestia, the new method will facilitate the work of specialists several times.
"Now the stage of isolation of nucleic acids from the sample is skipped. By avoiding this process, we eliminate operator error when the sample may become contaminated at the extraction stage. Thus, we simplify the life of the laboratory itself, which does not need to be "laundered" and look for an error, and speed up the output of results," he said.
As indicated in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, currently there are 7.7 times more PCR laboratories in the medical institutions of the department than in the civilian healthcare system. In addition, in the Russian Armed Forces, all military personnel underwent routine vaccination, and 534,538 people have already been revaccinated.
Earlier in the day, the country's Defense Ministry said that the Russian military had developed an accelerated method of testing for coronavirus. Its result can be obtained in half an hour. It was noted that the kit includes a special reagent that inactivates the virus in one minute, which almost immediately allows you to proceed directly to the study.
The Russian authorities urge citizens to get vaccinated in order to protect their health and take care of their loved ones. Russians are vaccinated for free. Five coronavirus vaccines have been registered in the country: Sputnik V, Sputnik Lite, EpiVacCorona, EpiVacCorona-N and KoviVak.
All relevant information on the situation with coronavirus is available on the stopcoronavirus websites.rf and access to all.the Russian Federation, as well as by the hashtag #MyPlace. Coronavirus hotline number: 8 (800) 2000-112.
