Surgeons who have become stretcher bearers, medical students converted into nursing assistants … The mobilization is total, even to veterinarians. Their laboratories will be called upon to screen for Covid-19 patients. It must be said that they have the same equipment.
In Alsace, a particularly affected department, the Strasbourg veterinary laboratory is now empowered to carry out analyzes. If it was accepted to strengthen screening for coronavirus, it is primarily because it is a highly secure laboratory, used to detect dangerous viruses such as swine fever or bird flu.
“It is a laboratory which is under vacuum, under incoming and outgoing test. The analytical technique is strictly the same, we will use exactly the same devices as we treat an animal or a human. The advantage we have ‘is a habit in our laboratory to manage crisis management “, says Céline Contal, virology manager.
The samples will be taken by doctors or nurses and this veterinary laboratory will then support the analyzes. “Our testing capacity is around 400 per day. It’s not huge but it will allow us to be able to test the elderly in nursing homes as a priority, “explains the laboratory director.
The Grand-Est Regional Health Agency plans to authorize other veterinary laboratories, like Nancy’s, to practice these coronavirus tests.
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