Manufacturer of PCR Covid tests kits​ (FOI)Manufacturer of PCR Covid tests kits​ (FOI)
Produced by the Freedom of Information officeAuthored by Government of Jersey and published on
23 October 2020.Prepared internally, no external costs.
​Request
I would like to request the name of the manufacturer of the Jersey PCR Test Kits currently in use.
Response
PCR testing can be performed in a number of ways. These can be fully automated, semi-automated or manual.
On-island PCR testing is performed in the hospital laboratory using a Cepheid machine (called a GeneXpert) and Cepheid test kits.
On-island testing in the COVID laboratory uses a generic testing process called real time PCR which makes use of machines and reagents from a variety of manufacturers.
Off-island testing is performed by two UK labs, Public Health England and Micropathology – both of these providers also use real PCR in a similar way to the on-island COVD laboratory. In addition, Public Health England use a machine called a Hologic Panther, along with the corresponding test kits from Hologic.
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