A faulty CDC coronavirus test delays monitoring of disease’s spread
The Washington Post
Updated: February 25, 2020
Problems with a government-created coronavirus test has limited the U.S. capacity to rapidly increase testing, just as the outbreak has entered a worrisome new phase in countries around the world.
While South Korea has run more than 35,000 coronavirus tests, the U.S. has tested only 426 people for the virus, not including people who returned on evacuation flights. Only a handful of state laboratories can currently run tests outside of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta because the CDC kits sent out nationwide a week and a half ago included a faulty component.
Currently, U.S. guidelines recommend testing for a very narrow group of people - those who display respiratory symptoms and have recently traveled to China or had close contact with an infected person.
The small number of U.S. cases thus far may be a reflection of limited testing, not of the virus' spread. Infectious disease experts fear that aside from the 14 cases picked up by public health surveillance, there may be other people, undetected, mixed in with colds and flu. What scares them the most is that the virus is beginning to spread locally in countries outside China, but no one knows if that's the case here, because they aren't checking.
"Coronavirus testing kits have not been widely distributed to our hospitals and public health labs. Those without these kits must send samples all the way to Atlanta, rather than testing them on site, wasting precious time as the virus spreads," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
On Friday, the agency said it wasn't yet ready to broaden its testing.
