Dallas County Health Officials Demonstrate How They Test For Coronavirus
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A microbiologist with Dallas County Health and Human Services snapped on gloves and an air purifying respirator over his face, as he prepared to demonstrate how tests are being conducted for COVID-19.
It's one of at least five across the state, including those in Tarrant County, Houston, El Paso, and Lubbock, now able to detect the new coronavirus.
At the demonstration Thursday, lab supervisor Daniel Serinaldi said about a dozen tests had been completed in the first two days of testing. All came back negative for the virus.
"We're accustomed to highly pathogenic or emerging infectious disease," lab supervisor Daniel Serinaldi said.
His lab has handled plenty of public health threats.
"Ebola cases in 2014, we did the Zika emergence, we covered the 2012 West Nile Virus outbreak, and the 2009 H1N1," he said.
Checking for COVID-19 isn't much different.
Hospitals swab a patient's nose and throat and send those samples to the lab.
Those samples are then placed in a solution to break down tissue cells and help expose any virus inside.
"Testing capability is getting more widespread, so we're likely to probably find something soon," said Tarrant County public health director Vinny Taneja, announcing Thursday his department was ready to begin its tests.
The ability to test locally will allow for quicker results, available within a matter of hours rather than days.
"That is very very fast because you don't want to have someone sitting and waiting, wondering, 'What do I have?'" Taneja said.
Serinaldi said he's curious to learn how many samples his lab will be able to process per day, in the race to stay ahead of the latest menace.
"We really want to be able to push the limits and get it done, but we want to do it right," he said.