WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2020) The United States began shipping a newly developed diagnostic test for the deadly novel coronavirus to US and international laboratories, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a press release on Thursday.
"Initially, about 200 test kits will be distributed to US domestic laboratories and a similar amount will be distributed to select international laboratories. Each test kit can test approximately 700 to 800 patient specimens. Additional test kits will be produced and made available for ordering," the release said.
The CDC noted that the test kit has not been cleared or approved by the US food and Drug Administration, but the latter provided emergency use authorization needed for the distribution to proceed.
The test, which was developed by the CDC, uses equipment originally developed to verify infections by the flu virus, the release said.
Health providers have complained that diagnostic tests now being used can test positive one day, negative the next day and then turn positive in subsequent tests.
With at least 560 deaths from the coronavirus reported thus far - mostly in China - the disease is on track to surpass the toll of 774 fatalities in the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic.
