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Add to Preferred SourcesThe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will provide diagnostic kits, equipment and training in nuclear-derived detection techniques to countries asking for assistance in tackling the worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus causing COVID-19, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi announced.
The assistance, requested by 14 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, is part of intensified global efforts to contain infections. The diagnostic technique, known as Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), can help detect and identify the novel coronavirus accurately within hours in humans, as well as in animals that may also host it.
“The Agency takes pride in its ability to respond quickly to crises, as we did in the recent past with the Ebola, Zika and African Swine Fever viruses,” said Mr. Grossi in a statement to the IAEA Board of Governors. “Contributing to international efforts to deal with the coronavirus will remain a priority for me as long as the outbreak persists.”
The first training course in detection techniques will take place at the Joint IAEA/Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Animal Production and Health Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria, in two weeks’ time and will include medical and veterinary experts from Cambodia, Republic of Congo, Cote d´Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. Additional regional courses will be organized for other countries, including from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Participants will be trained in biosafety and biosecurity procedures to protect health and veterinary workers during sampling and analysis and to prevent further external contamination. They will immediately receive emergency toolkits with personal protection equipment, specific diagnostic reagents and laboratory consumables. A number of national laboratories will also receive additional equipment, such as bio-safety cabinets and RT-PCR devices.
Nuclear-derived techniques, such as RT-PCR, are important tools in the rapid detection and characterization of viruses, like the one causing COVID-19.
The assistance to countries in tackling COVID-19 is delivered through the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme, which supports the peaceful application of nuclear technology in areas such as human and animal health. It is funded through the IAEA’s Peaceful Uses Initiative, which was launched in 2010 to mobilize additional funding for such projects.
Original source: IAEA
Published on 09 March 2020