SARS-CoV-2 testing is a way to reduce the size of the epidemic. MCB UJ studies show substantial differences in the way of interpreting the results and sensitivity of tests. An experienced expert can handle the complicated interpretation of test results, but low test sensitivity may reduce the chance of a correct SARS-CoV-2 test result.

Human Genome Variation Research Group and Genomic Core Facility MCB are actively helping an ongoing fight against SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. As one of the seven laboratories in Malopolska, we support Sanepid in testing samples taken from potentially infected individuals. To this end, we take advantage of our lab’s equipment - we utilize the Tecan robotic workstation to carry out the extraction of virus RNA from the patients’ samples safely and robustly. For the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we use a real-time PCR method, which is a gold standard due to its high sensitivity and specificity. We would like to thank for the help of the Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and the Medical College of the Jagiellonian University. We have analyzed over 2,000 samples so far.