Test kit for detection of SARS-CoV-2 made in Vietnam

The real-time RT-PCR test kit (kit-detecting SARS-CoV-2) causes Covid-19 epidemic to test results of suspected cases in more than 2 hours, with sensitive criteria , equivalent to a biological kit manufactured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC-US) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Products under the research topic are presided over by the Military Medical Academy to serve the prevention and control of Covid-19 epidemic in Vietnam.

Made in Vietnam

Dr.BS Dr. Hoang Xuan Su, Head of the Department of Microbiology and Biological Pathogens, Military Medical Research Institute, Military Medical Academy is one of the main members of the research team that contributed to the birth. Kit made in Vietnam. Dr. Hoang Xuan Su said that at the end of December 2019, cases of unknown pneumonia appeared in Wuhan, China. As a habit of a scientific researcher, from the outset, he closely monitored information about this emerging pathogen.

S.BS Hoang Xuan Su (middle) with the research team.

But it was not until January 13 that a team of scientists announced a successful 'catch' of the virus, when its genetic information was successfully decoded. 'Very soon after that, we contacted a long-time partner, Charite-Berlin University, Bernhard Nocht Institute of Tropical Medicine, Germany for more advice and exchange of genetic information. of SARS-CoV-2 was decoded and published (symbol MN908947), the testing procedure identified 2019-nCoV (at that time) and contact sent to Vietnam '' - Dr. Su informed.

After being accepted as a member of the Global Influenza Sharing Database (GISAID), Mr. Su really had the opportunity to access information about the genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 that scientists Published on GISAID. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, he hugged the computer to analyze and compare the genome of this virus. Since then, test and design a primer and its probe as well as compare with the US and China to select the optimal set for real-time RT-PCR technology to detect SARS-CoV-2.

On February 7, the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology announced the successful culture and isolation of SARS-CoV-2 and the Institute actively contacted to receive the RNA genetic material of this virus. process of research, development and evaluation of biological detection kit for SARS-CoV-2.

Mr. Su remembers that in the afternoon of January 31, during the consultation meeting with scientists, the Ministry of Science and Technology gave three tasks, including the task of studying the KIT test kit. With the advantage of researching from an early age, the Military Medical Research Institute has sent a dossier of research and development of test kit to the Ministry of Science and Technology. After the Scientific Council organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology agreed to give the Institute and the Institute only 2 weeks to have the KIT tested, after a month of product put into use. The time is too urgent, all members of the research team have to increase their performance by 3 times.

To achieve the progress, Dr. Hoang Xuan Su said that the whole group had worked all the time, including many days until late at night to finish the job. Dr. Simile 'Labo lights never turn off, only work is completed when'. The members of the group were living on the spot, eating bento and taking a nap while the realtime PCR machine was running the experiment. The research work took place before Tet so the whole team had almost no Tet. "This is the first time we have to study in such urgent conditions," he said.

Typically, a product such as a virus detection KIT test takes about 2 years of research, goes through the process of approving a topic, organizing a bidding to buy chemicals, evaluating, optimizing processes, evaluating, testing, acceptance . and it also takes 2 years to transfer production, register products. But because the outbreak broke out so fast, all precedents were broken. If the total time of research and completion is calculated, Su's team only has 2 months, which is 8 times shorter than the normal process.

The 'horizontal' transition is full of grace

Sharing about himself, Dr. Hoang Xuan Su said he studied medicine at the Military Medical Academy. Graduated as a general practitioner in 2005. After a one-year field trip to the Military Region 2, in 2006, he took a position at the Military Medical Research Institute, Military Medical Academy. Having completed a master's degree program at the Military Medical Academy, in 2010, he went to France to work as a PhD student in microbiology and immunology at the French National Institutes of Health Research (INSERM, U823), University of Grenoble Alpes. In 2014, when he graduated, he returned to the Military Medical Research Institute, the Military Medical Academy continued to work so far.

Mr. Su said that he graduated from doctor, but he turned to majoring in medical microbiology, in which he studied deeply molecular microbiology. This is not the first time Mr. Su has researched and developed the KIT test to detect the virus that causes the disease. In 2014, he also succeeded as the head of an independent national project, researching the KIT for Ebola virus detection kit. In this research, he has just been granted the exclusive solution by the National Office of Intellectual Property to a utility solution for the KIT test.

Research team members working in a laboratory

' The research path is not always favorable and full of roses. From the concept of research to implementation of the topic, there are times when 'breathless' is waiting for results. Many of his research proposals were unsuccessful for several reasons. But each time that failure gave me more motivation to find other ideas and research directions, '' Su said.

' Research to serve what ' is always a permanent question every time he intends to work on a project. Without fact finding out the cause of renal dysfunction in kidney transplants, he would not find the key to the BK (poly polyavavirus) virus. Thanks to his research and study, he has published a scientific work ' Genotypic characteristics of BK polyomavirus in patients after kidney transplantation in Northern Vietnam ' published in an international journal. Researching the SARS-CoV-2 virus test kit, he also had an article submitted to an international scientific journal and received a review from the editorial board. So far, he has had more than 10 international published scientific papers along with more than 20 published journals in the country.