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PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - UPMC has announced they have developed a test to detect the COVID-19 coronavirus.
“UPMC will use this test to diagnose select, symptomatic cases. The health system plans to rapidly increase capacity at its central laboratory and, if there is a need, could test hundreds of patients per week in the near future, filling a critical gap before other commercial tests come online,” the health system said in a statement.
UPMC began the tests Tuesday at a specimen collection site on the South Side.
The site is not open to the public and must be referred by a physician approved by UPMC’s infection prevention team.
UPMC will open collection facilities in other cities including Harrisburg, Erie, Williamsport and Altoona in the future.
“Developing this test for a never-before-seen virus in the midst of a pandemic was a tremendous challenge, even for our academic medical center with its long history of such developments,” said Alan Wells, M.D., D.M.Sc., medical director of the UPMC Clinical Laboratories and Thomas Gill III Professor of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “But testing capabilities are absolutely essential to managing a pandemic. If the communities we serve see a surge in severe illnesses, we must be able to diagnose people quickly to give them the appropriate care while protecting our staff and the broader community.”
Anyone who takes a test should self-isolate until results come back.
If the patient tests positive, they will be referred to public health authorities.
UPMC test result will be presumed positive until confirmed by either the CDC or state public health laboratories.
Dr. Wells says the United States lagged behind in coronavirus testing.
He adds the tests that were created by commercial labs are “either not service the Pittsburgh region or can take longer for results.”
Anyone who suspects they have COVID-19 but don’t have serious conditions like a high fever or breathing problems should call their doctor.
Anyone who is experiencing these symptoms should go to their closest hospital.
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