Manufacturer of PCR Covid tests kits (FOI)Manufacturer of PCR Covid tests kits (FOI)
Produced by the Freedom of Information officeAuthored by Government of Jersey and published on
23 October 2020.Prepared internally, no external costs.
Request
I would like to request the name of the manufacturer of the Jersey PCR Test Kits currently in use.
Response
PCR testing can be performed in a number of ways. These can be fully automated, semi-automated or manual.
On-island PCR testing is performed in the hospital laboratory using a Cepheid machine (called a GeneXpert) and Cepheid test kits.
On-island testing in the COVID laboratory uses a generic testing process called real time PCR which makes use of machines and reagents from a variety of manufacturers.
Off-island testing is performed by two UK labs, Public Health England and Micropathology – both of these providers also use real PCR in a similar way to the on-island COVD laboratory. In addition, Public Health England use a machine called a Hologic Panther, along with the corresponding test kits from Hologic.
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