Vietnamese scientists can grow novel coronavirus in lab

Scientists at Vietnam’s National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) have successfully grown and isolated the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the laboratory which could help speeding up the testing of new cases, the Ministry of Health yesterday announced.
Vietnamese scientists can grow novel coronavirus in lab
This is an important step of Vietnamese scientists in the way to find out preventive measures against the new virus which first surfaced in the Chinese City of Wuhan in December 2019.
After the success of growing and isolating the virus, Vietnam can test thousands of samples when necessary.
At present, around 1,500 cases in Vietnam are still waiting for test results, including 1,000 people returning from China and another 500 quarantined for having close contact with infected patients.
Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long also revealed that a group of Vietnamese scientists are working on a diagnostic kit that will reduce 2019-nCov testing time to two hours.
From January 31, the Institute has been able to have test result within one or two days or even within 5-8 hours after the Southeast Asian country has received the World Health Organization’s support.
Mentioning production of vaccine against 2019-nCoV, Director of the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1 Do Tuan Dat said that it takes three months to tests feasibility though the company has actively asked for help from the UK.

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