As of 4 February, a total of 48 people had been tested for suspected novel coronavirus (nCoV) in Da Nang but none had been confirmed as having contracted it until now.

A medical worker from the municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention preparing for taking samples of suspected patients

Tests for the virus play a critical role in stopping the spread of the deadly outbreak, enabling healthcare workers to early detect infected patients and promptly treat them. Therefore, medical workers who are in charge of conducting tests may face a high risk of getting infected.

In the morning of 3 February, the Lung Hospital received 2 patients with high fever who were suspected of having nCoV.

Immediately, staff from the Ward of Medical Test - Image Diagnostics - Functional Exploration under the management of the municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were present at the hospital’s quarantine area for taking throat swab and blood serum samples to test for the virus.

Dr Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, Head of the Ward, said that this was a regular job for medical workers in the face of an epidemic.

She, however, added the World Health Organization called the outbreak of coronavirus in China a global health emergency, and the deadly illness is alarming the world because there is no vaccine for the new virus.

Dr Nhan said medical workers must place the specialised devices deep into the oropharynx area in order to take throat swab samples. During the process of taking samples, the flu virus might be spread by not only coughing and sneezing, but also simply by breathing.

Therefore, medical workers who are responsible for taking throat swabs of suspected patients have to wear protective gears and glasses, and N95 face masks. All these protective items are for single-use only.

“The samples of suspected cases will be sent to the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute to test for the virus. Depending on the actual situation, they can be transported by air and by road. In case of emergency, the city’s centre will use its own vehicles to run through the night to take the samples for tests as soon as possible” Dr Nhan said

She added the procedures for processing and then storing the samples after collection at the testing site and during transportation are also very important to ensure the analyte stability.

In the face of growing complicated epidemics, the medical staff had to work in the hospital during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Mrs Nhan remarked “The throat swab sampling must be done promptly and precisely, hereby facilitating doctors to early detect and promptly treat infected patients”.

The Head of the Contagious Disease Management and Bio-Vaccine Division of the CDC, Dr Nguyen Tam Lam, said in the early days of fighting against nCoV, CDC staff faced some difficulties in taking samples of suspected cases, especially foreigners due to the language barriers.

In attempting to deal with the matter, information forms in English and Chinese are provided for foreign patients.

Also, the automatic translation system on smartphones is be used to verify patient information.

CDC’s staff always play a pioneer role in detecting the disease, especially for high risk infectious diseases such as nCoV.

By PHAN CHUNG - Translated by MAI DUNG