WSU to begin COVID-19 testing
Will start working with human samples; four new cases reported on the Palouse
Washington State University announced Tuesday it will begin testing human samples for COVID-19 in an effort to increase testing capacity in eastern Washington.
WSU will work with the Washington Department of Health and a private laboratory, Incyte Diagnostics, to run as many as 2,000 COVID-19 tests per day, according to a WSU news release.
The human samples will be collected from multiple sites in the state. Range Health, the WSU-affiliated nonprofit that runs a mobile medical unit serving rural areas, will collect samples from people in the region’s smaller towns and communities.
The new testing effort is called WSU One Health Diagnostics, and it was established at the request of the Department of Health.
WSU One Health Diagnostics does not conduct sampling or provide tests directly to the general public. It processes secured samples received from Incyte Diagnostics.
COVID-19 testing is available upon request by a personal physician and must be received through Incyte Diagnostics.
The WSU lab can process antibody tests, which can show whether someone has had the virus in the past. However, a positive antibody test does not guarantee that someone is immune to contracting COVID-19 again, the news release stated. These tests can help epidemiologists understand how widely the virus is being transmitted in the community by people without symptoms.
WSU’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory has already tested for COVID-19 in animal samples. The human tests at One Health Diagnostics will be handled separately from the testing for animal pathogens, which will continue at its usual levels.
More cases locally
Three more COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Latah County and one new case was reported in Whitman County on Tuesday.
There have been 26 cases in Latah County this year, and 13 new cases since June 29.
There have been 47 cases in Whitman County. According to Whitman County Public Health, the latest patient is a man between ages 20-39. He is stable and isolating at home.
There have been no deaths in either county.
Anthony Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
