Testing kit quickly distinguishes between coronavirus and flu

An innovative Shanghai-developed nucleic acid kit which can test for both the coronavirus and influenza has been approved by the national authority.

The kit can quickly differentiate between coronavirus infection and flu infection. Both have similar symptoms such as fever, throat pain, coughing and fatigue. Flu infection also can result in shadow or ground glass nodule in the lungs.

The kit will improve the efficiency of medical staff.

Developed by Shanghai 3DMed Diagnostics, it is the first such testing kit approved in the nation.

According to Xiong Lei, the company's founder, nucleic acid tests have become routine since COVID-19 prevention and control became a long-term task.

Life and work have returned to normal in China as the epidemic has been under proper control here.

With the arrival of autumn and winter, the annual peak season of flu will come. Cases with similar symptoms of COVID-19 can impose pressure on both medical staff and patients, he said.

"Normal screening may need two tests to identify coronavirus or flu, while the new kit can help improve processes, save costs, reduce anxiety and result in better efficiency through just one test," he said.

Company officials said the new kit was included in the Emergency Use Listing of the World Health Organization last year.

The listing is similar to the green channel for medical product evaluation and approval in China. The company is applying for product registration both home and abroad for the new kit.

In addition to the new kit, the company is developing an instant coronavirus testing kit, which can shorten the testing time from 60 minutes to less than 30 minutes.

It is also investigating a new coronavirus testing kit targeting the current hyper-contagious Delta variant as well as other variants like Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Lambda to achieve more effective epidemiological investigation and virus-spreading route identification.

Ti Gong