Jim Urquhart/Reuters
- The US is significantly behind on testing coronavirus patients compared to countries like South Korea and China.
- Delays in US testing can be attributed, in part, to the CDC's decision to develop its own test, which turned out to be faulty.
- The US also restricted testing criteria so that not everyone with symptoms of the virus was eligible to be tested.
- For the latest global case totals, death tolls, and travel information, see Business Insider's live updates here.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The US response to the coronavirus outbreak had been plagued by testing debacles and delayed reports of local cases. The country has confirmed more than 1,000 infections and more than 30 deaths as of Wednesday, but health experts anticipate that the total number of cases is likely higher.
Around 80% of coronavirus cases are believed to be mild, which means some patients may never show symptoms. But even mild cases can be infectious, making it difficult to control the virus' spread. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said "there's a good chance many will become sick" in the US.
In states with major outbreak like Washington and New York, local hospitals have reported a shortage of test kits to identify cases. As of March 8, the CDC had only conducted around 1,700 tests, compared to nearly 200,000 in South Korea.
Here's a timeline of everything that went wrong with coronavirus testing in the US.
The initial outbreak was first reported in China on December 31. By January 10, a Shanghai laboratory had sequenced the virus' genome.
Reuters
The 30,000-nucleotide sequence opened the door for scientists to develop a diagnostic test.
With a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, for instance, doctors can compare the genome for COVID-19 to the genome from a throat swab or saliva sample.
German scientists produced the first diagnostic test a week later.
AP Photo
The researchers started developing candidate tests before the COVID-19 genome was announced using genetic sequences for SARS-related viruses. Once the COVID-19 sequence was available, they quickly released a diagnostic test on January 17.
The World Health Organization began shipping those tests out to countries during the first week of February.
Associated Press
On February 6, WHO reported that it was shipping about 250,000 tests to 159 laboratories around the world.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- How coronavirus testing actually works at one private lab that can process hundreds of tests a day
- More than 60% of the US's coronavirus deaths are linked to a Washington nursing home. Here's what we know about the outbreak there.
- Certain health conditions can increase the risk of severe disease from the coronavirus — here's what to watch out for
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