|Videos|June 4, 2020

Contagion Live News Network: Testing for Severe COVID-19

A brief on the latest infectious disease headlines.

Segment Description: A brief on the latest infectious disease headlines.

Relevant Coverage: FDA Authorizes IL-6 Test for Early Detection of Severe COVID-19 Illness

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for the Elecsys IL-6 test, according to Roche. The test can be used on Roche’s “cobas e” analysers.

The test measures levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) to identify patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at high risk of intubation.

“The test can support physicians, in combination with other examinations and vital signs, to decide early on if a patient with confirmed COVID-19 illness requires mechanical ventilation,” Roche indicated in a press release.

The company noted that test results from this particular diagnostic take approximately 18 minutes, with a potential output of up to 300 tests per hour.


Related to this article

FAQ: Pneumonic Plague
A laboratory technician at a Siberian anti-plague institute has died of pneumonia of unknown cause, prompting quarantines and contact monitoring while Russian officials stop short of confirming plague.
How The Food Safety Surveillance Infrastructure Works in the US
In the first episode of our new series looking at the food safety network, Lynette Johnston, PhD, offers insights into how the federal government surveillance infrastructure operates and how epidemiologists serve as food detectives in determining bacterial pathogens and potential foodborne outbreaks.