Australia announces a breakthrough: Successfully replicates Wuhan virus, helping to accelerate vaccine research

Dr. Mike Catton (Image: ABC)

The new development is described as a “game-changing” breakthrough, helping scientists determine whether future vaccines can be effective.

The Peter Doherty Institute in Melbourne, Australia, is the first laboratory outside of China to replicate the nCov virus. The Institute’s scientists say they will share their research with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe, as well as share it with laboratories around the world in a race to deliver. develop a vaccine to prevent acute pneumonia caused by nCov.

The ABC team, the Peter Doherty Institute scientists, developed the virus from a patient identified to be infected on Friday, January 24.

“We did it,” deputy director of the institute, Mike Catton, said January 28. “Great.”

According to Dr. Catton, the new discovery is “crucial” and will become an important part of the vaccine testing toolkit, allowing scientists to test any potential vaccine.

Reproduced virus samples also allow researchers to develop test kits to identify people who are likely to be infected, even before the appearance of external symptoms.

At present, patients in Australia with initial symptoms will be tested in the hospital, and the sample must be sent to the Doherty Institute for a second determination before it can confirm whether the patient is infected with the nCov virus. or not. But this will be changed thanks to the January 28 breakthrough.

Dr. Julian Druce of the Peter Doherty Institution, described the 28th event as an important development step in the global understanding of the new virus, as well as how to combat it.

“This will be a ‘game changer’ for other laboratories in Australia.”

Successful reproduction of the nCov virus also helps experts understand how it works. Doherty is the second in the world to successfully replicate this virus, after a lab in China. Chinese units do not share their findings with WHO.

Australia’s health director, Brendan Murphy, said there was currently no human-to-human transmission of nCov virus, and that people should not be too worried. The patients were isolated and all patients in Australia were in stable condition.