Studies Finding Remnants of SARS-CoV-2 in Sewage Suggest COVID-19 May Not Have Originated at Wuhan Market, Some Scientists Dispute the Findings

Aug 17, 2020 | International Laboratory News, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology

Researchers from multiple countries looked at sewage samples collected from 2018 through early 2020, with findings that may interest microbiologists and medical laboratory scientists Clinical laboratory tests for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can identify COVID-19 cases in individuals. But in multiple countries, researchers have tested untreated sewage for remnants of the pathogen, and some scientists have arrived at a surprising but unconfirmed theory—that the coronavirus appeared in Europe long...

COVID-19 is Mutating and A Scripps Research Study Reveals the Coronavirus May Become Even More Infectious

Jul 24, 2020 | Instruments & Equipment, International Laboratory News, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations, Precision Medicine

Researchers found evidence indicating that the virus has—under selection pressure—made itself more stable, giving it a “significant boost in infectivity” While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the United States and throughout the world, new research suggests that a coming genetic mutation within the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus may make it much more dangerous than it already is. This finding has significant implications for clinical laboratories that perform COVID-19 testing and the...

Australia Spent $200 Million (AUD) on Chinese COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing Kits That Went into The Country’s Strategic Reserve Rather than Being Used

Jul 1, 2020 | International Laboratory News, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing

Australian government heralded April purchase of 10 million clinical laboratory diagnostics tests from BGI, but most of the nation’s states and territories say kits are unneeded or unable to be used by their health departments While the United States and other nations attempt to bring the COVID-19 outbreak under control, many countries have turned to China to offset shortages of clinical laboratory SARS-CoV-2 test kits needed to diagnose the coronavirus. This did not work out well for the...

Washington Post Investigation into CDC’s Failed Rollout of COVID-19 Tests Shows Federal Government’s Missteps and Miscalculations, Part One of Two

Jun 15, 2020 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, International Laboratory News, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations, News From Dark Daily

Previously unreported email messages and documents paint vivid picture of public health laboratory officials’ dismay and frustration over testing delays Between late January and early March, Clinical laboratory leaders watched with dismay as federal government missteps crippled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) rollout of its COVID-19 diagnostic testing in the early days of the pandemic. The resulting lack of testing capacity enabled the novel coronavirus’ spread across...

Tech Companies Suggest Ways Location Tracking Could Help Health Authorities Fight the COVID-19 Coronavirus by Identifying People Who May Need Clinical Laboratory Testing

Apr 24, 2020 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, International Laboratory News, Laboratory Instruments & Laboratory Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations

Privacy concerns have one tech giant suggesting alternatives to sharing potentially identifiable location tracking data Expect an interesting debate on the use of location tracking as a way to manage this and future pandemics. It is a debate that has implications for clinical laboratories. After all, if location tracking identifies individuals who may have been exposed to an infectious disease, will health authorities want those individuals to be immediately tested? Location tracking has been...

Serological Antibody Tests a ‘Potential Game Changer’ and Next Phase in Efforts to Combat the Spread of COVID-19 That Give Clinical Laboratories an Essential Role

Apr 20, 2020 | Instruments & Equipment, International Laboratory News, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing, Management & Operations

IVD Companies and medical laboratories are developing serological survey testing that will enable them to determine how widespread COVID-19 has become While medical laboratories gear up for testing to detect SARS-CoV-2—the novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 illness—efforts also are underway for expanded use of serological tests that can detect whether an individual’s immune systems has developed antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as serological surveys that...