Thousands of CONTAMINATED Chinese-made coronavirus testing kits are recalled – but some have already been used in US
THOUSANDS of coronavirus test kits bought from China have been withdrawn by Washington state after they became contaminated.
The 12,000 kits were sourced by the University of Washington which spent $125,000 on them and then donated them to the state, which had begun using them.
But officials were alerted by UW School of Medicine after problems emerged with the kits.
The state’s Department of Health said in a statement that recall was sparked after it was found that the viral transport media (VTM) were an “unusual color”.
They found to be contaminated with a common bacteria which made them turn pink instead of orange or yellow, KIRO7 reports.
VTM is the fluid that preserves a specimen during transport, such as one collected via nasal swab from a person being tested for COVID-19.
Department officials believe there is no health risk to patients, as the VTM does not come in contact with patients during a COVID-19 test.
“Though the quality control issue has only been observed in a small number of tubes of viral transport media, we adhere to the highest quality standards for COVID-19 testing in Washington state,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman.
“We are working with our partners to have them discard the product and will work to replace them as quickly as we can.”
The department said the “quality issues… did not impact COVID-19 test results”.
Washington’s COVID-19 Response Joint Information Center said With 12,000 tests now no longer being used said there could be a delay in testing.
UW Medicine Lab's Dr. Geoffrey Baird said the aim was to fill the gap in testing and he was "disappointed" with flaws in the kits, the Seattle Times reports.
The test kits were secured with the help of a businesswoman from the city who used a business associate in China.
The associate has connection to a doctor in the Hubei province, the hardest hit by the disease, to secure testing kits from a Shanghai factory.
The kits were then sent to the U.S Amazon-chartered plane with the university paying US$125,000 to purchase them.
The businesswoman who helped secure the kits, Anita Nadelson, said: “We vetted these as best we could. "It’s an unexpected turn on both sides.”
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