Accurate Measurement of SARS-CoV-2 and Development of Nucleic Acids Reference Material

As for combating the COVID-19 pandemic, the earlier the rapid and accurate detection is put in place the more effectively the transmission will be cut off, to which the SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid plays a crucial role. However, many APMP developing member institutes are facing challenges developing reference materials for the traceable accurate measurement of the virus.

The project titled “Accurate measurement of SARS-CoV-2 and development of nucleic acids reference materials” was overseed by NIM (China), with five participating institutes. It was designed to build up the capabilities of APMP DEC member institutes in providing traceable measurement of SARS-CoV-2 to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future potential pandemics. 

Under the project, in July 2021 NIM and HSA jointly hosted the webinar on Accurate Measurement of SARS-CoV-2 and Development of Nucleic Acids Reference Materials, where LGC, NIST, KRISS and NIM experts delivered reports on topics, including principles and international standardization guidelines for PCR testing, development of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid reference materials, etc. The webinar has benefited 118 participants from various APMP developing member institutes. Currently, there is an ongoing post-workshop learning exercise, in which APMP DEC member institutes can apply the methods learnt from the Webinar to measure the reference sample distributed by NIM and compare their results.

Contact

Dr. Lianhua Dong

Center for Advanced Measurement Science, NIM, China

donglh@nim.ac.cn