Author: Du Weiwei

Translated by: Wu Xia

They are the people closest to the virus-specimens of patients with dangerous new coronavirus, who face the challenge and meet these special "enemies". They are also the smartest "virus hunters"-while attacking the virus positively, they constantly update their "weapons", leaving the cunning new coronavirus nowhere to hide. They are the team of laboratory medicine department of Wuhan University Renmin Hospital.

In the fight against the NCP epidemic, the 36-member molecular testing team led by Professor Li Yan was the earliest medical institution to carry out nucleic acid testing in the country, and created the miracle of carried out the most tests nationwide. They are not as eye-catching as the medical staff who treat patients, but they have played a vital role in the battlefield in Hubei in the fight against the epidemic. The leaders of the National Health Commission praised this excellent team for many times: it is indeed a "national team"!

Key stand in the “stormy sea”

In late January 2020, the NCP epidemic began to breakout. A large number of suspected patients rushed into the hospital anxiously, but could not wait for an answer: were they infected with NCP?

In the “stormy sea”, the Department of Laboratory Medicine of Wuhan University Renmin Hospital, led by Professor Li Yan, stepped forward to take up social responsibility. On January 20, they urgently contacted the kit manufacturer to purchase the reagents. After receiving the reagents in the early morning of the 21st, they urgently performed the evaluation of the reagents and took the lead in carrying out the new type of coronavirus nucleic acid detection among the medical institutions of Hubei Province.

Taking responsibility needs strong support. The Department of Laboratory Medicine of Renmin Hospital Wuhan University is a national key clinical specialty. Especially the level of molecular diagnosis is in the leading position in the national laboratory. In order to successfully carry out this new type of coronavirus nucleic acid detection project, the laboratory suspended some molecular diagnostics tests, and all members of the molecular diagnostic center were invested in the new coronavirus nucleic acid detection.

The Department of Laboratory Medicine has an independent P2 laboratory. Upon arrival of the test kit, it was set as the site for the detection of the new coronavirus. After careful deployment and comparison with previous standards, the laboratory has made rational adjustments in terms of staffing, equipment placement, performance evaluation of test reagents, and biosafety protection, and has quickly transformed from the initial routine nucleic acid detection process to the new coronavirus nucleic acid standardized detection process . A team of more than 30 people implements a rotating work pattern of 4 shifts 24 hours a day, working day and night in the P2 laboratory.

In the nearly 40 days as of February 28, the Department of Laboratory Medicine of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University detected a total of 25,623 NCP virus specimens, which accounted for about 1/3 of the detection volume of medical institutions in Hubei Province, and created a single-day detection volume of 1,741. It has made significant contributions to achieve the epidemic prevention and control goals of “accurately identifying patients, grasping the number of infected people, and cutting off the source of infection in a timely manner”.

Li Yan said that the fight against the epidemic was a wartime test of the comprehensive ability of the discipline. Before the war, there was no fear, no retreat, but an orderly response, which fully reflects the level of the "national team" in laboratory medicine, and is also the best reflection of the results of the construction of key national specialties for more than 10 years.

The great “virus hunters”

NCP, an infectious disease of type B, and management of type A, its spread is trembling. Dealing with the dangerous and cunning NCP every day, the fear of the tester is inevitable.

How to ensure that medical staff are not infected while making a rapid diagnosis? Li Yan repeatedly pondered this question. After repeated discussions with the team, they decided to try a virus inactivation method.

The hero behind the scenes

In the early days of epidemic prevention and control, many medical institutions did not know much about how to standardize the testing of NCP. As a forerunner, the Department of Laboratory Medicine of Renmin Hospital Wuhan University has provided emergency selfless assistance to medical institutions in the province.

As early as the end of January, at the same time when the new coronavirus nucleic acid test was initiated, the laboratory medicine department reached out to the various departments of Wuhan University Renmin Hospital to conduct standardized training in specimen collection, and draw a schematic diagram of pharyngeal swab collection and precautions. The laboratory department actively participated in the confirmation of suspected patients and standardization of discharge patients. In order to facilitate the standardization of specimen collection, improve the detection rate, and ensure the biological safety of medical personnel, the department of laboratory medicine also worked with the hospital to produce a “nasopharyngeal swab collection normative map and operation video” and promoted it to medical institutions throughout the province.

Isolate viruses, not isolate love. The Department of Laboratory Medicine competes against the disease. In addition to the detection of new coronavirus nucleic acid specimens from the Wuhan University Renmin Hospital, East Hospital District, and Wuchang Fanghang Hospital and Wuhan Ninth Hospital, they take the initiative to cover more hospitals. Including Qingshan CDC, Jiang'an District CDC, Jianghan District CDC, Wuchang District CDC, Hongshan District CDC and Donghu High-tech CDC, Hanchuan CDC, Yingcheng CDC, Dawu CDC, Anlu CDC, Xiaogan CDC and other institutions. So far, they have covered 46 medical institutions, and handled 12148 samples from other institutions.

On February 4th, at the Hubei Provincial Health Commission training meeting on the detection of novel coronavirus nucleic acids in the province, Li Yan gave a report of "doing our best in detection of the novel coronavirus" ". In this fight against epidemic, the Department of Laboratory Medicine of Wuhan University Renmin Hospital fulfilled its promise with action: to be courageous and be a "hidden soldier" for epidemic prevention!