German researchers said Thursday they have developed the first diagnostic test for a new virus that has emerged in central China.
The virus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year and cases have since been reported in Thailand and Japan. Dozens of people in China have been sickened by it and one person with severe underlying conditions has died.
Dr. Christian Drosten, the director of the Institute for Virology at Berlin's Charite hospital, said the test developed by his team will allow labs to reliably diagnose the so-called novel coronavirus "in a very short period of time."
The test protocol is being made available through the World Health Organization, and laboratories can order a molecule from the German team to compare patient samples with a positive control, he said.