On-site visits: How nucleic acid testing is performed in mobile P3 laboratories

More than 6 a.m., Beijing Fengtai District CDC, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (hereinafter referred to as china CDC) Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Institute Assistant Researcher Yang Xiaoxuan and colleagues ready to enter the mobile P3 laboratory, began a day of new coronavirus nucleic acid testing.
yang Xiaoxuan has long been used to these jobs. From Wuhan to the Peony River, to Jilin, Beijing, since the outbreak of new crown pneumonia, she and her colleagues followed the mobile P3 laboratory across half of China, to help all over the world, to protect the lives of all.
does the mobile P3 lab look like? How do the staff operate inside? Many people are full of curiosity. On June 20, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily visited the China CDC Mobile P3 Laboratory to get up close and personal and uncover its mystery.mobile P3 lab looks white from the outside, is large, and looks like a container.
12.67 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and about 30 square meters in size, like a small residence, divided into buffer zones and core operating areas. Zhao Hongqun, vice-captain of the mobile P3 laboratory testing team of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told Science and Technology Daily.
equipped with all kinds of advanced instruments needed for the experimental process, such as biosecurity cabinets, nucleic acid extractors, film sealers, small centrifuges and so on. "So the space left for staff to operate is very small, 12 square meters, for 4 people at a time. Its greatest advantage is mobile, mobile, flexible, where needed can drive. Zhao Hongqun said.
China CDC Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Institute deputy director, mobile P3 laboratory testing team leader, P3 laboratory is short for biosecurity protection three-level laboratory, the entire laboratory is completely sealed, the room is in a negative pressure state, so that the internal gas will not leak outside to cause pollution. "We usually use the 'third stream' to sum it up, i.e. the flow of people, logistics, airflow in one direction, to ensure that the pollutants inside do not leak outside to cause pollution, to maximize the safety of the core area operators." He said.and his colleagues first came to the buffer zone, which is divided into two channels. The first buffer zone is on the right side of the door, about one square meter. Here, they have to change the experimental inner bile suit and white coat, change the experimental shoes, wear a medical protective hat and N95 mask, and then, into the negative pressure mobile experimental detection vehicle buffer room (second buffer zone), put on biosecurity III.class experimental body protective clothing, wear double-layer gloves, protective shoes, disposable isolation clothing, goggles or protective screens, check each other into the mobile laboratory core area for experiments.
process takes about 20 to 30 minutes, meaning that it takes about an hour for them to get in and out of the lab to change their clothes and protective equipment.
intense nucleic acid testing is about to begin.
first, the sample receiving staff will send the sample to the test vehicle for registration, inspection, the infectious sample transport box to the delivery window. "It's worth noting that the door to the transfer window is an interlocking device that has a double door that can't be opened at the same time, ensuring that the air brought in when the sample is passed in is isolated in the double door so that the environment outside the lab is not polluted." Yang Xiaoxuan explained.
, the core area staff disinfects the surface of the sample transfer box and unboxes it in the core operating area to remove the bioscathed transport tank. The biosailation tank surface disinfection after the biosecurity cabinet, in the biosecurity cabinet to open the tank, surface disinfection after the sample sampling tube removed, according to the experimental sample number. The appropriate sample was added to the viral nucleic acid extraction kit and the sample nucleic acid was extracted using the nucleic acid extractor.
" open cover sample is the key to operation, because wearing double gloves, so it looks a bit clumsy, plus goggles or protective screen and biosecurity cabinet glass window double barrier, all movements are slow, hands will tremble from time to time, need to be extra careful. Yang xiaoxuan said.
Next, according to the dual real-time fluorescent PCR test kit instructions, according to the number of test samples to make PCR reaction system, will be extracted nucleic acids added, the use of real-time fluorescent PCR instrument for testing, according to the CT value of the instrument output, to determine whether the sample is negative, positive or suspected.
" step is commonly referred to as amplification reaction, because of the large number of equipment, P3 laboratory space is limited, so we are next to the P2 laboratory. Yang xiaoxuan said.
"We can operate 32 people at a time, the sample size of a large number of rounds, plus the extraction of nucleic acids and manual inventory sample time, the general detection takes 8 hours. If a sample amplification curve is not displayed correctly and needs to be reviewed, it will take longer. Lu Wei, a member of the test team, said they had worked 36 hours in a row in Jilin because of sequencing.
, the test completed samples, after review, by ultraviolet radiation disinfection and disinfection of the surface of disinfectant transported out of the mobile testing laboratory, high-pressure sterilization treatment. Mobile laboratory sample receivers are responsible for final laboratory finishing and clearance, and, if necessary, final disinfection.
" laboratory in the existing staffing, the daily testing capacity is more than 1000, in Jilin once a day more than 1600 tests. Will be in accordance with the needs of the epidemic, at any time to adjust the strength, do a good job of testing. He said.9 a.m. on June 17, the CDC mobile P3 laboratory testing team assembled, they are composed of 14 members of the Infectious Diseases Institute. Previously, three of them have participated in Wuhan, Peony River and Jilin first-line anti-epidemic, respectively, 8 in Wuhan and the Northeast first-line struggle.
"This is an iron team, don't look mostly girls, but the fighting power is particularly strong." He was particularly proud of the performance of his players. Because there are a large number of sample tubes to open the lid, some team members even wearing double gloves fingers also grind off the skin, some team members wrists with injury wet pain cream into the P3 laboratory.
" since February 4th, I have been at home for 6 days and my family is used to it. Zhao Hongqun said that since 2004, he has been in charge of P3 laboratory operation and management for 16 years, wherever the car, where people are. From Wuhan to the Peony River to Jilin, he returned to Beijing on June 6th, and after 10 days of isolation at the hotel, he and his team went into battle again.
his work, he rarely contacts his family. "No news is the best news." When he said this, Zhao Hongqun choked a little. Less than a month daughter will be in the exam, when he withdrew from Jilin to Beijing, he was most afraid of going home to isolate the impact of children to go to school, later know is centralized isolation, hanging heart only put down.
, can not cheer around the child, Zhao Hongqun said: "The child is old, I believe she will understand." "
is the command, prevention and control is the responsibility. In the face of the call of the state, they did not hesitate, at that moment, they are soldiers, with selfless and fearless protection of the people's security.
the mountains and rivers are safe and the hero will come home soon.