Appears in Switzerland in a patient, the Coronavirus, lands a saliva swab in Geneva (The latest news in the news Ticker). The infection, however, is only official, then, if the "reference center for emerging viral infections" at the Geneva University hospitals (HUG) has found the Virus in the smear. Why choose Geneva? What is the reference centre for emerging viral infections? The questions could be clarified with a visual inspection.

"A visit to the Lab? Impossible. An interview with a laboratory doctor in the house? "Too busy, makes a HUG spokeswoman for the request for a Visit. The laboratory work seven days per week, round-the-clock, arguing the woman. The capacity limit to be achieved in the Geneva reference centre at the moment, although not entirely, but the burden is still very large, and detailed in the Unispitäler later.

Two measures of relief has been provided. In the last days of Switzerland were opened wide, around ten reference centres, in clinics and laboratories. You may now carry on corona tests. This means in turn that The centers send only positive findings, to Geneva, to allow the Coronavirus to confirm. Last week, the Geneva-based virologist working in a cadence of up to nine Tests per day, per Test 24 samples can be processed. At the beginning of week six of the Tests were carried out. However, the new infections, increase the amount you can increase rapidly.

samples in Biocontainern

transported to The Corona samples were transporters in the Hospital, so normal cars, to Geneva, brought, says the biologist and head of the Center, Pascal Cherpillod. Each sample is in a tube, which in turn is protected by a larger tube. The tubes are located in a temperature-protected security envelope or small container, organic container called.

In Geneva are given to the samples in a so-called Thermocycler, and cooled in a targeted manner and is heated, in this case, the genetic material propagated and analyzed directly. The laboratory device, then signals of itself, whether the patient sample Sars-CoV-2-contains genetic material. Nevertheless, the currently ten employees of the Geneva reference centre must check the results.

handwriting makes time-consuming research needed

Far more complex than the laboratory test itself was sometimes to decipher the hand-written patient names or telephone numbers of Doctors. In these cases, elaborate research, were necessary, in order to make the sender and to register the data in the IT System of the Geneva University hospitals, surprised Pascal Cherpillod. The reference centre for emerging viral infections, in Geneva, was founded by the Swiss authorities in 2005 as a response to the terrorist Anthrax attacks of 2001.

Created: 05.03.2020, 16:59 PM