At the directive of His Excellency the Acting Minister of Health, Eng. Adel bin Mohamed Faqih, the Ministry of Health (MOH) installed a specialized medical laboratory in Madinah, as part of the Ministry’s public-health preparedness program for MERS-CoV.
This laboratory, costing SR 15 million, bears witness to the Ministry’s commitment to securing the most advanced and effective infrastructure to help combat MERS-CoV. The laboratory is able to deliver results in record time, as it examines and identifies specimen within six hours, down from 24 hours, when specimen were sent to Jeddah Regional Laboratory for testing after which the results used to be sent back to Madinah.
According to Dr. Mohammad Qutb, Director of the Laboratory & Diagnostics Platform at the Command and Control Center (CCC) at the Ministry of Health, the laboratory was developed on the recommendation of a committee comprising Saudi and international experts commissioned to assess the previous laboratory following the MERS-CoV outbreak earlier this year. The laboratory was completed in cooperation with several international and other specialized organizations.
The new laboratory, according to Dr. Qutb, serves MOH's current as well as future objectives.
Equipped with the latest technology, the laboratory provides fast and accurate results and allows for comprehensive examination of MERS-CoV and other respiratory viruses, in addition to processing patients suspected with hepatitis (B and C) and HIV. All instruments used in the medical laboratory, including the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), have been thoroughly evaluated by the Ministry, which checked the accuracy of tests and output by comparing examination results from other regional laboratories to confirm quality according to international standards and specifications.
The laboratory replaces the mobile laboratory rented from King Abdulaziz University, which during construction of the new laboratory served the general public in Madinah. According to Dr. Qutb, the mobile lab, which supported hospitals and pilgrims in Arafat during Hajj, is currently in the city of Taif, where it is assisting in the epidemiological surveillance and sampling of suspected MERS-CoV cases.