Roche develops PCR test to detect virus

Roche develops PCR test to detect virus

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche announced on Wednesday that it has developed PCR tests to detect the monkeypox virus, after several cases were reported in parts of the world where the disease is not common.

These tests were developed by Roche and its subsidiary TIB Molbiol, “in response to cases of infection with the monkeypox virus, which have raised concerns recently”, they said in a press release.

“Roche has developed a new series of tests to detect the simian pox virus and monitor its spread,” said the director of Roche’s Diagnostics Division, quoted in the press release.

Recent outbreaks are unusual, with more than 250 cases in 16 countries as of May 22, according to the World Health Organization, as they tend to occur in countries where monkeypox, a disease characterized by skin lesions, is not endemic.

The tests developed by Roche are not for the general public but are available for research purposes in most countries of the world.

A first kit detects orthopox viruses including simianpox virus, the second specifically detects simianpox virus, while the third kit makes it possible to detect orthopoxvirus by specifying whether simianpox virus is present.

According to WHO, the disease should be detected by PCR test as antigenic tests cannot determine whether it is monkeypox virus or other related virus. The best samples for diagnosis come from sores, swabs of exudates (fluid produced by the wound) or crusts from wounds.

Monkeypox or monkeypox is – according to the WHO – a rare viral zoonosis (virus transmitted from animals to humans) whose symptoms are less severe than those seen in the past in subjects with smallpox.

With its elimination in 1980 and the subsequent discontinuation of smallpox vaccination, this orthopoxvirus emerged as the most important virus of its kind.

It occurs sporadically in parts of tropical forests of Central and West Africa. The disease was first detected in humans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) in 1970.

In 2003, cases were confirmed in the United States, marking the first occurrence of the disease outside of Africa. Most were exposed to domestic prairie dogs infected with imported African rodents.

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