The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), has caught its first sight of the local SARS-CoV-2 virus, the causative agent of Covid-19.
Also read: Covid-19: 80 million infants worldwide face risk of further diseases – WHO
This was done by culturing the virus in a high biocontainment facility, a biosafety level 3 (BSL3) laboratory, which together with a biosafety level 4 (BSL3) laboratory, is the most advanced integrated high and maximum biocontainment infrastructure on the African continent.
Staff were required to wear highly specialised BSL3 personnel protective equipment to protect themselves while doing this painstaking work.
Successful isolation of the virus was confirmed by observing changes in the cell lines used to grow the virus, called a cytopathic effect (CPE).
Also read: Covid-19: Africa’s coronavirus cases top 100 000
Confirmation that this was indeed SARS-CoV-2 was done by specific diagnostic molecular assay.
The cultured virus was visualised under a high powered electron microscope.
The capacity to culture SARS-CoV-2 from local Covid-19 cases was developed in the last few weeks by Prof Janusz Paweska and his team at the NICD.
It will allow scientists to better understand the basic virology and pathogenicity of this novel coronavirus and enhance South Africa’s capacity to develop diagnostics and anti-viral compounds.
Also read: Covid-19: South Africa could go up to 3.7-million cases by November 1
There is also the possibility of using a laboratory-grown virus for the local development of inactivated or live-attenuated Covid-19 vaccines which will contribute to effective disease prevention and control.
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