The
National Health Institute (INS) has certified 100 laboratories, located in 25 Peruvian regions, which rely on infrastructure and capacity to process molecular tests aimed at detecting COVID-19, the
Ministry of Health (Minsa) reported on Tuesday.
The INS specified that —of the 100 laboratories authorized so far— 6 belong to universities, 45 are private, and 49 are public ones.
Concerning the public sphere, the distribution is as follows: 5 of them are run by the INS (1 located in Lima, 1 in Loreto, and 3 COVID Maskaq mobile laboratories), plus 25 reference laboratories located in each region.
Likewise, 9 are found at Minsa hospitals located in Lambayeque, Lima, Madre de Dios, Ica, and La Libertad; 1 laboratory is run by the Armed Forces; and 9 laboratories are under the direction of the Social Health Insurance System (EsSalud) in Cusco, Arequipa, Lima, Junin, Piura, Lambayeque, and Loreto.
Specialized molecular biology laboratories are necessary to identify the virus and study its characteristics, contributing to the control of the pandemic. This requires technology, equipment, and trained personnel.
It must be noted that the
National Center for Public Health (CNSP) of the INS is the body in charge of regulating, developing, evaluating, as well as disseminating research and appropriate technologies for the prevention and control of diseases, in addition to providing training for obtaining, preserving, and shipping samples of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
It is also responsible for making the technology transfer to public health laboratories and Health Services Providing Institutions (Ipress) of the Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) method.
Any laboratory that intends to carry out molecular diagnosis must be an Ipress and comply with the requirements established in Directive No. 054-INS/CNSP-V.02.
Once the request is received, a team of INS professionals verifies the infrastructure conditions, personal biosafety, and quality of the molecular biology laboratory.
(END) NDP/LIT/MVB
Published: 6/22/2021