The quick test kit shortens the testing time to 70 minutes instead of four hours. (Photo courtesy of Hanoi University of Science and Technology)
The group, with more than ten members and led by Dr Le Quang Hoa, in collaboration with Innogenex International Technology Science Ltd Company, made the test kit using a Reverse Transcription Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) technique, reported VNA.
The innovation which amplifies the ribonucleic acid (RNA) of pathogens to identify the virus has made Vietnam the first country to successfully develop RT-LAMP test kits for nCoV.
Currently, it takes about four hours to get the results if doctors use the standardised testing method called Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), which is applied worldwide and recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Vietnamese scientists started to conduct studies less than one month ago, on January 15th, when China announced the gene characterisation of nCoV.
Vietnam brings 30 citizens home from Wuhan
On February 10th, the aircraft carrying Vietnamese citizens from Wuhan in China’s Hubei province landed at Van Don International Airport in Van Don island, the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh.
The special aircraft carrying Vietnamese citizens from Wuhan in China’s Hubei province (Source: zing.vn)
They will be carried to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases for isolation and medical monitoring.
The move was made under the instruction of the Prime Minister through the coordination among the Foreign Ministry, the Vietnam Embassy in Beijing (China) and related ministries, agencies and localities, said VNA.
Earlier, Vietnam sent medical equipment and supplies to China to help fight the acute respiratory disease caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
The aircraft performing the flight was the one which earlier transported medical supplies presented by Vietnam to China, along with 11 Chinese citizens back to Wuhan.
According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam has confirmed the 14th novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection case.
The newly-detected patient paid a visit to the infected worker’s home on January 28th during the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival. She is among those who had close contact with the confirmed patient and has been closely monitored since then by the provincial disease control centre.
Vietnamese culture introduced in Saudi Arabia
Diverse cultural activities such as exhibitions featuring Vietnam’s history, land, people and heritage, film screening, performance of traditional musical instruments, lion dances, and circus performances, are taking place at a programme introducing Vietnamese culture in Dharan, Saudi Arabia from February 3rd to 15th.
Vietnamese lion dance introduced in Saudi Arabia (Source: VNA)
Visitors also have the chance to buy made-in-Vietnam handicraft products and taste Vietnamese traditional foods and study special traditional costumes of Vietnamese ethnic groups./.