The National Health Research Institute (NHRI) and the National Defense Medical Center yesterday announced a prototype COVID-19 rapid diagnostic kit that can provide results in about 15 minutes.
The NHRI and the center’s Institute of Preventive Medicine used SARS-CoV antibodies produced during the SARS outbreak in 2003 and picked out one that can identify SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, to develop the rapid test kit.
After spending a month developing the test kit, the institutes yesterday in Taipei presented the prototype to pharmaceutical companies in the hope of achieving technology transfers and starting mass production.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The test works by placing a specimen taken from the mouth or nose onto a test strip, which siphons the specimen toward the antibodies on the strip, NHRI National Institute of Infectious Disease and Vaccinology Director Liao Ching-len (廖經綸) said.
As researchers have identified the coronavirus’ spike protein, if the specimen contains SARS-CoV-2, the spike protein would be caught by the antibody and two lines would appear on the test strip, indicating a positive result, he said.
The results are shown in a similar fashion to a pregnancy test — one line means negative and two lines means positive — Liao said.
The prototype has been proven to avoid cross-reaction with other viruses, including human coronaviruses OC43, 229E and NL63; adenoviruses; respiratory syncytial virus; type A influenza viruses H1N1, H5N1 and H7N9; and enterovirus 71, he said.
The prototype is not meant to replace the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test, which is currently being used for diagnosis, he said, adding that they hope the rapid test will be used as a complementary measure to allow hospitals to screen patients rapidly and sort them, Liao said.
They also hope experienced pharmaceutical companies can join them in refining the prototype, and manufacture and release the final product for front line disease prevention, he added.
NHRI President Liang Kung-yee (梁賡義) said that the Food and Drug Administration has also launched a scheme, which grants permission for clinical trials and mass production at the same time, to shorten the duration required for a product to hit the market.
If the procedures go smoothly, the test kit could be out in three months, Liang said.
Other countries have also expressed an interest in technology transfers, but the NHRI wants to give priority to Taiwanese companies, he added.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary