In the Vitebsk region, laboratory diagnostic capacities for COVID-19 are being expanded
It is worth noting that the new laboratory in Orsha will become interregional and will serve the nearby districts that previously delivered biomaterial to Vitebsk.
Due to the increasing number of samples for coronavirus testing, the laboratory of the Regional Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, which handles the main load of diagnostics using the highly accurate PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method, is increasing its volumes.
As reported by Alexandra Bibova, Head of the Laboratory Department of the Vitebsk Regional Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, they receive an average of 2 to 2.5 thousand samples daily from all over the region, except for Polotsk and Novopolotsk, which have their own laboratories. The main part of the tests, as far as capacity allows, taking into account round-the-clock three-shift operation, is processed in-house; the rest is distributed to the laboratories of the Vitebsk Regional Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital, the Regional Clinical Maternity Hospital, and the laboratory of the Center for Dermatovenereology and Cosmetology.
As part of the readiness for the second wave of the epidemic, an additional second amplificator has been purchased for the leading laboratory of the sanitary and epidemiological service using funds from the regional budget. This device allows specialists to detect the RNA of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strain.
Another acquisition deserves special attention – an automated RNA/DNA extraction station. Its range of applications is quite broad, but in the context of the pandemic, it is used exclusively for coronavirus and will significantly speed up the work of the laboratory service in this area. For comparison: the station allows for the extraction of coronavirus RNA from over 90 samples in just half an hour, while the manual method requires at least two hours. The automatic station was purchased with humanitarian funds centrally by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus. By the way, a similar unit has also been transferred to the regional infectious disease hospital.
– The additional equipment has allowed us to increase the throughput of our laboratory for COVID-19 PCR diagnostics to 1,800 samples per day, and also enabled us to reduce the turnaround time for results, – emphasized Alexandra Nikolaevna.
The increase in the volume of laboratory diagnostics for COVID-19 in the Vitebsk region during the second wave of the disease, including through the expansion of existing laboratories and the opening of new ones, allows for diagnostics and necessary anti-epidemic measures to be carried out within optimal timeframes, which is important for containing the further spread of the virus.