Covid-19 Diagnostic
In Collaboration with Siloam Hospital Lippo Village
Since the pandemic outbreak, MRIN has been actively involved in the diagnosis of Covid-19. Three biosafety level (BSL) 2+ facilities have been set up to process patient samples from Siloam hospitals. Samples coming in viral transport medium (VTM) solutions are processed to isolate the viral RNA. This process requires laboratories that meet the BSL2+ regulations. During the isolation of viral RNA virus particles are destroyed, only genetic material of the virus is obtained. In the form of RNA, this biological material is no longer infectious and can then be proceeded for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). For the detection of the SARS-CoV-2, RT-PCR uses two primer pairs specific for two different SARS-CoV-2 genes. As internal control, a primer pair for a specific human gene is used (this is a control for PCR reaction as well as control for RNA preparation).