Virus grown by Aussie scientists helps with battle

The novel coronavirus successfully grown by scientists in Australia from a patient sample will not only assist diagnosis but also present key information for developing a vaccine.

The work will provide international laboratories with crucial information to help create a vaccine for the virus, according to the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

The institute, which grew the virus at the end of January, has confirmed that the work can also help an antibody screen test to identify the infection in patients who have yet to develop symptoms.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital's Dr Julian Druce, head of the Virus Identification Laboratory at the Doherty Institute, said this is a significant breakthrough as it will allow accurate investigation and diagnosis of the virus globally.

"Chinese officials released the genome sequence of this novel coronavirus, which is helpful for diagnosis. However, having the real virus means we now have the ability to actually validate and verify all test methods, and compare their sensitivities and specificities－it will be a game changer for diagnosis," Druce said in a statement.

"The virus will be used as positive control material for the Australian network of public health laboratories, and also shipped to expert laboratories working closely with the World Health Organization in Europe."

Mike Catton, deputy director of the Doherty Institute, said the team will now share the virus with research labs around the world recommended by the WHO to help the development of more accurate diagnostic tests and vaccines.

"There are some things that are much easier to do when you have the virus," Catton said.

Antibody test

The virus grown at the Doherty Institute is expected to be used to generate an antibody test to detect the virus in patients who have not displayed symptoms and are therefore unaware of its presence in their body.

"An antibody test will enable us to retrospectively test suspected patients, so we can gather a more accurate picture of how widespread the virus is, and consequently, among other things, the true mortality rate," Catton said in a statement. "It will also assist in the assessment of effectiveness of trial vaccines."

The virus was grown from a patient sample that arrived at the Royal Melbourne Hospital's Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory at the Doherty Institute on Jan 24.

Australia confirmed its first coronavirus case on Jan 25. It was a Chinese national who had flown into Melbourne from Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Jan 19.

"We've planned for an incident like this for many, many years and that's really why we were able to get an answer so quickly," Catton said.

He also credited the success to Australia's network of laboratories and public health authorities effectively working together.

"We are glad we were able to respond quickly," Catton said.

The virus was grown over a long weekend－Jan 25 to 27－with Druce checking on its progress from a monitor at his home.

According to Catton, having the ability to grow the virus "is a key to developing a vaccine".