Aussie team’s super fast new COVID-19 test

A speedy new genetic test for COVID-19 developed by Australian researchers is set to revolutionise contact tracing.

A super fast new genetic test for COVID-19 is able to track down the source of mystery coronavirus infections within 12 hours thereby dramatically speeding up contact tracing.

Developed by Australian scientists, the new test allows contact tracers to reconstruct the family tree of coronavirus samples and determine where a person picked up the virus and who they spread it to.

It is also able to identify super spreaders of the virus who pass it on to large numbers of people.

And in the future it could be used to determine whether the virus is mutating in a way that makes vaccines ineffective.

A new superfast genetic test has been developed that can figure out who you contracted COVID-19 from if you test positive. Picture: Toby Zerna

Unlike conventional genetic testing which can take up to a week to get a result the new method does not require lots of lab equipment.

The device that carries out the testing is the size of a mobile phone and it is portable so the testing can be done in areas remote from central laboratories.

Developed by the Garvan Institute, the University NSW and NSW Health pathology the new test uses a device called a Nanopore sequencer.

In the past it had been thought the genetic test results delivered by these machines were not reliable.

Dr Ira Deveson from the Garvan Institute and his team have shown in new research published in Nature Communications they are just as accurate as slower traditional genetic sequencing.

“It’s been quite important for us to demonstrate that it is actually mature and ready to be applied in the real world and if used properly it’s just as good as the established approach but a lot faster,” Dr Deveson said.

Virologist Rowena Bull, from the Kirby Institute, and Dr Ira Deveson, Head of Genomic Technologies at the Garvan Institute. Picture: Toby Zerna

Associate Professor Rowena Bull from the Kirby Institute – who helped co-ordinate the project – said the testing could produce a result within 12 hours.

“If you got a sample early in the morning, then by that night, we could basically be looking at the sequence and seeing how it relates to the other samples,” Prof Bull said.

This speed is crucial for contact tracing teams who need to act fast to stop the spread of virus outbreaks.

Senior Medical Virologist at NSW Health Pathology Professor Bill Rawlinson said his team used the new method last week to uncover the source of infection in a hotel quarantine worker who contracted coronavirus.

“This was this was used on Friday and gave us an answer the same day. And we then compared it with the information we got from Illumina, and it gave us the same important answers,” he said.

The speed of the new test will be crucial for contact tracing teams. Picture: Toby Zerna

NSW Health is considering adopting the method in the future when they need a speedy test result, he said.

Once the COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out scientists will need to make sure the virus has not mutated in a way that evades the immune protection provided by the vaccine.

The new genetic test will be useful in that endeavour, Professor Rawlinson said.

The quick development of the new test was just the latest example of how science was being employed to help manage the pandemic, he said.

“Two years ago, was unthinkable because we didn’t have those tools. So the tools have gotten better, the resources have got better and I think we’re getting better at using them as well,” he said.

Originally published as Aussie team’s super fast new COVID-19 test