Coronavirus epidemic: 1 test and a hot summer give hope | United Kingdom | New

This comes as forecasters predict a warmer-than-average spring – hoping that the weather could help disease control efforts. The Covid-19 detector was developed by the Mologic laboratory, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited last week. The researchers plan to have a prototype of the on-site test ready in four weeks and available to the public and the NHS within three months.

Early detection would be a major boost in the fight against the deadly pandemic, as patients can be identified, isolated and treated earlier.

Mr Johnson visited the company's laboratory last week when he announced that the Department of International Development is providing £ 46 million in funding to help British scientists working on research. 39; a vaccine. The team of experts at Bedford Technology Park – who developed the stick pregnancy test – uses the same technique that helped them create a rapid test for Ebola.

This test was funded by the Wellcome Trust, the UK Department for International Development and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

It was completed and sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo only last week – and the team has now turned its attention to creating a similar kit for Covid-19.

It will consist of two separate tests on a plastic strip which they believe will be as easy to use as a pregnancy test stick.

The first will analyze the saliva collected via a buffer around the gums which will detect the unique molecular signature of a coronavirus protein – known as the "peak protein".

The other will analyze Covid-19 antibodies in a blood test that may show the presence of acute disease and also if there has been a history of coronavirus.

The team, which is also working on a vaccine, believes that the approach could be adapted to detect other epidemics. Dr. Joe Fitchett, medical director of Mologic, said, "We aim to have the prototype test available within four weeks using the same technology that we used for the Ebola tests.

"We want to make it accessible and widely available in the UK and also in low-income countries, at a price as low as 1 or 2 pounds each."

A key part of the government's strategy is to delay the peak of a coronavirus epidemic until the end of the year because warmer weather means hospitals are less busy.

A tropical 23C (73F) is scheduled for next month, with a spring season from March to May expected to be warmer than average.

Because winter flu and vomiting bugs subside faster in the heat, this should free up space in the NHS bed for people with coronavirus.

Warmer weather can also slow the transmission speed of coronaviruses.

Because it is a new disease, it is not known how it will react to the weather. However, previous research on similar forms of virus shows that they survive 4 to 5 times longer at 4 ° C than at 20 ° C.

Warm air and UV light are known to reduce the level of virus in the atmosphere. If Covid-19 works the same way, higher temperatures will help slow the spread.

Dr. William Bird, who set up the Met Office's health forecasting unit and was a public health advisor to the World Health Organization, believes the next two months are crucial.

He said, "The coronavirus is the real deal and if it quickly peaks, it will require a large number of unemployed people.

"However, although we cannot accurately predict long-term forecasts, warmer weather will reduce the survival of the virus – so the longer we can last, the lower its transmission rate."

Mortality rates are about 15% lower in summer than in winter, when 200,000 hospital admissions are cold-related, according to figures from the NHS and the Office for National Statistics.