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LUX-MICROHUB webinar – Laboratory Diagnostic Algorithms of SARS-CoV-2

LUX-MICROHUB webinar – Laboratory Diagnostic Algorithms of SARS-CoV-2
2020 12-11

The COVID-19 pandemic put virtual meetings at center stage. The LNS Microbiology department would like to capitalize on this new scientific era by gathering online interested parties for knowledge sharing and scientific learning. The team therefore created the virtual forum, Lux-MicroHub, to bring you together, on a monthly basis, to present and discuss the latest advances in Clinical Microbiology.

Thus, it is a great pleasure to invite you to attend the second webinar Lux-MicroHub which will take place this Thursday, 17 December 2020 (01 pm) via the following Webex link: https://lns.webex.com/lns/j.php?MTID=m06ecdec313e5027d9dac65d4d6c6fb2c

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in the human population in December 2019 in China and has since spread causing a pandemic declared by WHO. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had various implications that passed the public health impact to major effect on global economy.

The early diagnosis has been crucial not only in management of clinical cases but also in public health programs to control the spread of the infection. Diagnostic laboratories had been confronted with large numbers of COVID-19 RT-PCR kits that are commercially available. As of 10th December 2020, FIND listed 257 molecular assays on their website as being on the market and CE marked (www.finddx.org/covid-19/pipeline).

The Microbiology department at LNS has verified different diagnostic kits and methods including saliva testing kit, no extraction approach, pooling approach and evaluated them according to different criteria, number of target genes, inclusion of internal control, CE marking, operator assessment, limit of detectability and clinical sensitivity and specificity. The department also developed a unique sequencing solution, which is implemented in the national respiratory viruses surveillance program (ReViLux).

Dr Abdelrahman will address diagnostic algorithm of SARS-CoV-2 and the international trends. We will have Q&A session, so feel free to post your question at microbiology@lns.etat.lu by 17/12/2020.