Aussie team cracks coronavirus secrets
Australian researchers have replicated the coronavirus in laboratory conditions.
Australian researchers have replicated the coronavirus in laboratory conditions in a breakthrough that could help speed up the development of a vaccine.
Scientists from Melbourne’s Doherty Institute have grown the first copy of the virus outside China using a patient sample.
The copy will be used to create an antibody test that will help authorities detect the virus in people who have not yet displayed symptoms and don’t know they are unwell.
It will be shared with the Australian network of health authorities and sent to expert laboratories around the world who are working closely with the World Health Organisation in Europe to develop a vaccine.
It is the first time the virus has been grown in cell culture outside of China. One laboratory in China has also grown a copy of the virus, but has not shared it with the WHO or any international labs.
The Doherty Institute’s copy was grown from a sample that was taken from a patient who had tested positive to coronavirus in Australia.
The institute’s virus-identification laboratory head, Julian Druce, said the breakthrough would allow accurate investigation and diagnosis of the coronavirus globally.
“Chinese officials released the genome sequence of this novel coronavirus, which is helpful for diagnosis,” he said. “But having the real virus means we now have the ability to actually validate and verify all test methods, and compare their sensitivities and specificities — it will be a game changer for diagnosis,” Dr Druce said.
“The virus will be used as positive control material for the Australian network of public health laboratories, and also shipped to expert laboratories working closely with the World Health Organisation in Europe.”
The coronavirus that was grown by the scientists at the Doherty Institute is expected to be used to generate an antibody test, which would allow detection of the virus in patients who were not displaying symptoms and would be unaware they were carrying the virus, said Doherty deputy director Mike Catton.
“An antibody test will enable us to retrospectively test suspected patients so we can gather a more accurate picture of how widespread the virus is, and consequently the true mortality rate,” Dr Catton said. “It will also assist in the assessment of effectiveness of trial vaccines.”
Using a copy of the coronavirus, laboratories around the world will now be able to test any potential vaccine against the lab-grown version of the disease.
Being able to diagnose patients carrying the coronavirus before they experience symptoms is also expected to be significant in combating the rapid spread of the disease. Health authorities across Australia expanded their investigations into those at risk of carrying the coronavirus in the past 24 hours as it became apparent people were contracting the virus outside of Wuhan. Sixteen people are now being tested for the disease in NSW. There have been seven confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia so far.
The Health Department in NSW has recommended that all schools exclude any student for 14 days who has recently returned from China.
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