세계가 주목한 한국의 코로나19 진단장비들
With demand so high for South Korea made test kits, local manufacturers are busy churning them out.
Our Kim Bo-kyoung went out to see what tests are being made and who these companies are sending their products to.
To identify whether someone has been infected with the virus, extracting an RNA sample from a suspected patient is the first step.
'Genolution' is a company that makes an automated RNA extractor,... that can gather 48 samples in just 17 minutes.
With the COVID-19 pandemic getting progressively worse in some countries,... this fast and high-throughput product is in-demand and being exported globally.
"When the outbreak started we started providing our platform to Korea and China and we are almost 250-thousand tests to each country. And for now when the pandemic has been announced, we have been providing to Middle East, European countries and now South East countries. We plan to expand providing to US and as well as Southern America."
Although real time-PCR is the method predominantly used in South Korea,... the serological method, using antibodies formed in blood, is considered a rapid way of detecting COVID-19.
'Sugentech', a company that produces serological test kits, is also seeing a soar in demand from abroad.
"Just from last week, we have sent our product to more than 20 countries and to compare with before this outbreak, the biggest change is that contracts are coming from advanced countries such as Germany, U.K., U.S. and France."
There are at least 34 firms in South Korea officially exporting testing equipment.
"On the website provided by the health ministry and Korea Health Industry Development Institute, information on these firms is provided. They are the ones producing equipment with the officially-approved technology by Ministry of Food and Drug Industry and Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
“With hopes that more testing could help slow the global spread of the virus,… South Korean companies are trying their best to meet the world’s demand for test kits.
Kim Bo-kyoung, Arirang News, Cheongju."
