DEVT OF TECHNOLOGY FOR COVID-19 TESTING

[Anchor Lead]

A team of Korean scientists has developed a genetic reference material that can minimize the uncertainty of COVID-19 testing. This achievement helps reduce the deviations and errors of different diagnostic kits. Although China was the world's first to develop this material, the Korean one is reportedly more accurate

[Pkg]

COVID-19 is detected with a real-time PCR test. The test uses primers in the diagnostic agent which amplifies by attaching to a special DNA unique to the coronavirus. Positive or negative results are determined by monitoring the amplification of a targeted DNA molecule. The downside of this method is that each diagnostic kit has a different reference value, which leads to deviations among kits. The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science solved this problem by developing a SARS-CoV-2 genetic reference material. Korea is the world's second country to do so, following China. This reference material digitally analyzes DNA amplification, thus enabling the absolute quantification of DNAs. It is capable of not only detecting the presence of the virus in a sample but also accurately estimating how many viruses there are in the sample. The DNA quantification can dramatically reduce the errors in COVID-19 test results.

[Soundbite] BAE YOUNG-KYUNG(SENIOR RESEARCHER, KRISS) : "The sensitivity or effectiveness of a kit can be proven by using this reference material capable of absolute quantification."

It also contains the genetic information of 90% of COVID-19's total genomes. The virus is made up of 30,000 genetic sequences. This is why the Korean-developed reference material is able to respond more quickly to virus mutations than the Chinese one, which contains the genetic information of only 10% of genomes.

[Soundbite] KIM SE-IL(SENIOR RESEARCHER, KRISS) : "It can respond to diverse test kits or diagnostic methods since it has information of 90% of genomes."

The latest reference material can be immediately used in the COVID-19 diagnostic kits produced in Korea, giving another weapon to the country's fight against COVID-19.