One effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is increasing by establishing a fast and accurate diagnosis of COVID-19. If the confirmation case is detected more quickly, it will profoundly affect isolation action to be more having an immediate response, the confirmation case with symptoms gets appropriate treatment, and the allied health can follow it up as soon as possible.
However, all this time, confirmation of diagnosis has only relied on centralized laboratories in Jakarta. As the number of examination samples increases, new network laboratories are needed for diagnosis in the regions. Two laboratories at the UGM Campus, the Microbiology Laboratory and the Tahija Foundation The World Mosquito Program (WMP) Laboratory at the FKKMK UGM, are functioning to assist in the diagnosis of COVID-19.
FKKMK UGM lecturer, dr. Eggi Arguni, M.Sc., Ph.D., Sp.A., said that the two laboratories at UGM had been used for COVID-19 detection since last weekend. Some doctors and 13 staff of laboratory technicians are assigned to working for the two labs. “We tested samples of patients from hospitals, since last Friday we received samples from the UGM RSA,” he told reporters on Thursday (9/4).
According to Eggi, there was already a Decree (SK) from the Ministry of Health assigned laboratory for the COVID-19 experiment. In the Province of DIY itself, there are Dr. Sardjito and RSA UGM selected as laboratories to examine COVID-19. “For the UGM RSA, the laboratories used are the microbiology laboratory and the Tahija WMP Foundation diagnostic lab,” he said.
The appointment of this network laboratory confirms the definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 no longer waiting for laboratory test results from the center for PCR testing. Because, with one laboratory at the center to test samples throughout Indonesia, the waiting time will be very long. “The existence of a network laboratory in DIY will accelerate the results to be known. Moreover, a definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 infection must be made by PCR, not a rapid test,” he said.
For confirmation of a definite diagnosis, COVID-19 requires examination tests using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method derived from nasopharyngeal swab samples or the inside of the nose and oropharynx (inside the mouth and throat). “From this sweep, PCR will be tested to look for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 infection,” he explained.
Each university, according to him, has the competence to conduct examinations using the PCR method. However, the laboratory that carries out this examination must be at least a BSL-2 level. “It can’t be an ordinary lab,” he said.
However, he added, each examination of a sample of suspected COVID-19 patients did not rule out the possibility of laboratory workers also at risk of contracting if standard examination procedures were not carried out. “Therefore, we must use a complete PPE. There is already a biosafety procedure that we apply in the lab,” he said.
He acknowledged the possibility of being infected persisted in every work related to infectious agents. It always complies with SOP and biosafety so that the chance of contracting the risk can be avoided. “Until now, we have received samples from UGM RSA since last Friday. We have started to carry out the PCR test,” he said.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Translator: Natasa A