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The avian flu test kit
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Local research teams succeeded in inventing the world¡¯s first avian flu test kit. The National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service(NVRQS) and Standard Diagnostics Inc., a bioengineering firm, announced on Monday that they have invented the world¡¯s first test kit that can diagnose the presence of avian influenza within 20 minutes.
So far, the test of avian influenza usually takes about six hours to five days as the conventional test consists of a complex procedure such as sampling the kidneys of chicken or ducks and moving them to laboratories for testing. However, with this new invention, local quarantine authorities in small cities and districts, which are usually under-equipped or undermanned, could easily find out whether a certain area is contaminated with the avian flu on the spot, which in turn, would greatly facilitate quarantine efforts, said an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Cho yong-sik, president of Standard Diagnostics Inc., said, ¡°strong demand is expected in China, Thailand and Vietnam where bird flu outbreaks were reported.¡± The company is currently entering into a negotiation to export 900,000 to 150,000 test kits to China. Standard Diagnostics Inc. is a bioengineering firm that specializes in developing test kits for diseases like AIDS or hepatitis.
(Park Jong-sae, jspark@chosun.com )
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