AFP, SYDNEYScientists in Australia have successfully replicated the deadly Wuhan coronavirus, in what they said would be a “game changer” in the fight against a deadly epidemic which has stricken thousands. The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne yesterday announced that it had grown the novel coronavirus in cell culture from a patient sample, the first time the virus has been replicated outside China. “It will be a game changer for diagnosis.”China was quick to sequence the genome of the coronavirus and make it public, allowing scientists around the world to develop diagnostic tools and winning praise for its efforts, in contrast to the SARS outbreak of 2002 to 2003. Doherty Institute deputy director Mike Catton said the new finding meant scientists could now create an antibody test that would allow the coronavirus to be detected in patients who had not displayed any symptoms. “It will also assist in the assessment of effectiveness of trial vaccines.”Governments, universities and medical corporations worldwide are racing to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus, which has spread to more than 15 countries.

Source: Taipei Times January 29, 2020 15:56 UTC