Covid // U. Mayor implements rapid testing system for covid-19 to restart Investigation efforts
09-23-2020
09-23-2020
It is Zerocov, a technology that allows saliva samples to be taken and the result obtained in one hour, achieving early and timely detection. So far, and experimentally, more than 100 tests have been carried out on researchers who resumed their functions at the Huechuraba campus.
The Mayor University, together with the Center for Integrative Biology and Genoma Mayor SpA, implemented an experimental system for rapid testing of covid-19, with the aim of partially resuming the work in the Technological and Research Centers. It is the colorimetric RT-LAMP test (cLAMP), which they called Zerocov.
The director of the Center for Integrative Biology (CIB), Dr. Felipe Court, explained that this test uses PCR technology, but the difference is that it is performed at a constant temperature, therefore no special equipment is needed. "In addition, one of the great advantages is that it can be done from saliva samples and it is very fast, since the result is obtained one hour later. It is also colorimetric, changing from red to yellow in case of a positive result", the academic detailed.
Meanwhile, Dr. Patricio Manque, Vice-Rector for Research, added that "we have the possibility of doing a very rapid screening of people who have the potential to transmit the virus, in order to isolate them and cut the chain of transmission".
In this way, and experimentally, in recent weeks more than 100 tests have been carried out on researchers and assistants who work in the centers of the Huechuraba campus, with tests twice a week.
For Vice Chancellor Manque, who is a Doctor in Microbiology and Immunology, having this system at the Universidad Mayor represents a privilege, “because it is a technology that is already being used in other parts of the world, especially in the United States. This, added to social distancing, the use of masks, permanent hand washing and the use of alcohol gel, will allow us to aspire to an increasingly safe campus. It is a very powerful method that joins a global effort that the University is making to resume face-to-face activities".
"The idea is to restart Research activities, giving our researchers the assurance that there is an environment in which the possibility of contagion is very low," said Dr. Court.
To learn more about this early detection system, which allows you to install a timely and efficient control and monitoring strategy, enter the zerocov.cl site.
