New testing kit can detect 15 virus strains

China approved a new COVID-19 testing kit on Jan 15 that can accurately diagnose 15 common strains of the novel coronavirus, including the Delta and Omicron variants, according to kit developer Tsinghua University.

The kit, which was approved by the National Medical Products Administration, uses digital polymerase chain reaction technology that offers significantly greater precision and sensitivity than conventional PCR tests, making it ideal for detecting subtle differences among COVID-19 variants, the university said.

Digital PCR technology is a highly advanced technique typically used in the detection of rare mutations and next-generation gene sequencing. The testing kit is the first using such technology to be approved in China.