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Coronavirus RNA

Human coronaviruses 229E, HKU1, NL63, and OC43 are RNA viruses associated with the common cold. They usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses.

Less frequently, these viruses are associated with lower respiratory tract infection, including pneumonia, which primarily occurs in immunocompromised individuals and infants. Most people will be infected with one or more of these viruses at some point in their lives, with reinfections occurring throughout life.

In adults, these viruses account for 4% to 15% of acute respiratory disease annually, and up to 35% during peak periods. In children, the illness rates reaches 8% annually, with a peak of up to 20%. In temperate climates infections mainly occur during the winter months. Human coronaviruses are the second most common cause of the common cold, after rhinoviruses.

Clinical Details

Human coronaviruses are found within 2 genera: alpha coronaviruses (HCoV-NL63, HCoV-229E) and beta coronaviruses (HCoV-HKU1, HCoV-oc43, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Symptoms of coronaviruses include runny nose, sore throat, headache, fever and cough. Although human coronaviruses generally cause mild to moderate illnesses, some can cause lower-respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis. These are more common in immunosuppressed individuals, infants and the elderly population. Coronaviruses are spread from person-to-person through aerosolised droplets from coughing and sneezing , close personal contact or from direct contact with infected secretions.

The incubation period of human coronaviruses is 3 to 4 days and infection generally lasts 2-18 days. Infectivity peaks on day 10 which is also the height of disease severity.

Case Study
At Enfer Medical, we have integrated a cutting-edge and fully automated WASPLab® (Walk Away Specimen Processor) that has significantly enhanced our testing capabilities to ensure the highest of quality when processing patient samples.
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WASPLab® at Enfer Medical
Our entire microbiology workflow has been optimized using automation and highly sophisticated robots to ensure uninterrupted incubation for rapid bacterial growth and improved turnaround times for patients.
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Our Services

Service
Health & Wellness
General health and wellness testing can include a variety of tests, depending on the needs of the individual or recommendations of
Find Out More
Service
Sexual Health
Regular STI screening facilitates early treatment and reduces the long-term consequences of infection.
Find Out More
Service
Respiratory Health
Rapid early pathogen identification has important treatment and infection control implications. See our range of tests here.
Find Out More
Service
Reproductive & Female Health
Hormonal analysis is hugely beneficial to identifying problems that can arise during the reproductive years.
Find Out More
Service
All Services
View the full suite of services at Enfer Medical here.......
Find Out More
Sample Type &
Volume Required

Nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) placed in up to 3 mL of viral transport media, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) or sputum (collected in a sterile universal container).

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Panel Tests
The pathogens detected on this panel are:
Viruses  Bacteria
Adenovirus Bordetella parapertussis
Coronavirus (229E, HKU1, NL63, OC43) Bordetella pertussis
SARS-CoV-2 Chlamydia pneumoniae
Human Metapneumovirus Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Human Rhinovirus/Enterovirus
Influenza A (H1, H3, H1-2009)
Influenza B
Parainfluenza Virus (PIV-1, PIV-2, PIV-3, PIV-4)
Respiratory Syncytial Virus
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Transporting
Samples

In addition to the packaging of samples, the transport/delivery of clinical samples to the laboratory is required to be in adherence to all national regulations for the safe transport of biological materials. Enfer Medical provides a fully compliant logistics service, aligned with clients’ testing requirements.

Prompt transport of specimens:
To ensure prompt testing of samples and release of results within the published test turnaround times, samples should arrive to the laboratory by 18:00. Test turnaround time is measured from receipt of the sample at the laboratory until the time the authorised results are reported to users.

Acceptance/Rejection
of Samples

In rare cases specimens may not be suitable for testing on arrival to the laboratory. In that case the sample will be rejected at the receipt stage and the service user will be notified immediately and an explanation as to why the sample could not be processed will be provided. Reasons why samples cannot be processed include but are not limited to:

  • Samples received beyond the stability limits and/or not at the correct temperature indicated for each test.
  • Incorrect sample type received.
  • Leaking samples, sample not received or sample insufficient for analysis as stated below within sample requirements.
  • Non-compliant samples or request forms i.e. those missing sample date information, missing sample test request and/or missing sample site/type information.
  • Samples received without the necessary patient identifiers.
Clients will be provided with guidance on Sample Receipt Anomalies.

Our Services

Service
Health & Wellness
General health and wellness testing can include a variety of tests, depending on the needs of the individual or recommendations of
Find Out More
Service
Sexual Health
Regular STI screening facilitates early treatment and reduces the long-term consequences of infection.
Find Out More
Service
Respiratory Health
Rapid early pathogen identification has important treatment and infection control implications. See our range of tests here.
Find Out More
Service
Reproductive & Female Health
Hormonal analysis is hugely beneficial to identifying problems that can arise during the reproductive years.
Find Out More
Service
All Services
View the full suite of services at Enfer Medical here.......
Find Out More
Result Values:
Qualitative results will be reported for each pathogen as:
Qualitative results
  • DETECTED
  • NOT DETECTED
  • INVALID
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