A CDC addresses a glitch in coronavirus testing kits and will significantly expand testing as heath agencies prepare for more U.S. cases.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded criteria for coronavirus testing and fixed a testing glitch to allow every state and local health departments to begin testing next week.
The CDC initially developed and mailed testing kits with three components, or reagents, to detect the new virus, COVID-19. Some states had trouble validating one of three components in the kits. The CDC reviewed the glitch and concluded using two components are"appropriately sensitive and specific" to accurately detect coronavirus, Messonnier said.
On Thursday, the CDC also expanded testing criteria of"patients under investigation" to reflect the wider spread of the virus around the globe. People with a fever, cough or shortness of breath who traveled to five nations where the virus is spreading rapidly – China, Iran, Italy, Japan or South Korea – are recommended for testing.
Earlier this week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed frustration about the CDC's testing criteria and the limited number of test kits available. He said the number of testing kits was"simply inadequate" to adequately identify new cases. "Since the patient did not fit the existing CDC criteria for COVID-19, a test was not immediately administered," Lubarsky wrote.
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