PENANG, Malaysia, March 18 (Bernama) — Malaysian company, Medical Innovation Ventures Sdn. Bhd. (Mediven®), a company in MTDC’s ecosystem has developed two new laboratory test kits for use in testing patient specimens for COVID-19, including influenza and influenza-like illnesses, and for confirming COVID-19, respectively.
The single-tube assay, GenoAmp® Real-Time RT-PCR Flu A/ Flu B/ SARS-CoV-2/MERS-CoV, can detect and differentiate influenza A (H1N1, H3N2), influenza B, SARS-CoV-2 (Nucleocapsid, N gene; RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, RdRP gene; and Spike, S gene) and MERS-CoV simultaneously from a single drop of patient specimen. Due to the nature of these closely related diseases, it is often difficult to differentiate physical symptoms of one disease from another. Symptoms may include fever, cough and shortness of breath.