The Mathematical Strategy that Could Transform Coronavirus Testing
Published:13 Jul.2020 Source:Nature
Scientists say that widespread testing is needed to get outbreaks of the new coronavirus under control. But in many regions, there’s a shortage of the chemicals needed to run tests. In several countries, health officials have started using a strategy that was first proposed in the Second World War: group testing. By testing samples from many people at once, this method can save time, chemical reagents and money, say researchers.
“In the current epidemic, there is a need to test an extremely large number of patients, making pooling an attractive option,” says Roy Kishony, a systems biologist at Technion — Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.