The Korea Herald

소아쌤

Paraguay airport adopts S. Korean military lab-made COVID-19 test kit

By Choi Si-young

Published : Oct. 28, 2020 - 15:06

    • Link copied

A senior researcher who has developed the latest technology for a COVID-19 test kit poses for a photo in his military lab. (Ministry of National Defense) A senior researcher who has developed the latest technology for a COVID-19 test kit poses for a photo in his military lab. (Ministry of National Defense)
Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Paraguay will use a coronavirus test kit developed by a South Korean military lab, South Korea’s Armed Forces Medical Command said Wednesday.

The command’s medical research lab came up with the technology called the Face Infection Control System in May, and a local firm has commercialized it.

The kit is faster and cheaper in screening for the coronavirus than the popular polymerase chain reaction test, which amplifies a small sample of DNA large enough to study in detail to locate the virus.

Other local firms partnering with the lab shipped kits to key airports in Europe, which could test up to 600,000 people.

The kit is awaiting the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval.

The command said it was also working on another kit that could screen for the coronavirus and flu at the same time.

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)