Just as the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions will bring an influx of Queenslanders to the central west, Health Minister Steven Miles has announced a new testing system has been housed at the Longreach Hospital.
The $32,000 Cepheid GeneXpert testing system can deliver results within hours, eliminating the need for test samples to be flown to Brisbane or Townsville for analysis.
Mr Miles said this meant faster turnaround times and testing closer to home for most rural and regional towns and vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
"Previously, all test samples would have had to be collected and sent to Brisbane or Townsville for analysis with a potential wait of 48-72 hours for results to be returned, especially given the reduction in the frequency of scheduled flights to the region," Mr Miles said.
"Now, selected samples can instead be sent to Longreach.
"The advantage of the new system and the special SARS-CoV-2 testing cartridge it uses is that it has a fast turnaround time of within an hour, with the result then quickly available to the treating clinician.
"It also reduces the stress of waiting for results to return from outside the region."
Another benefit to the region is that the system can be loaded with cartridges that can test for influenza A, influenza B and for Respiratory Syncytial Virus, which is a common cause of bronchitis and pneumonia in children.
According to Central West Hospital and Health Service executive director of medical services David Walker, the limited supply of cartridges at present meant they would initially be used only for vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and other urgent cases at the discretion of infectious diseases experts.
Once international demand eased off and access to cartridges increased, so would the number of tests that would be able to be done locally.
Dr Walker said Central West Health had trained and qualified pathology laboratory staff at Longreach Hospital able to run the system safely and efficiently.
"The GeneXpert tests are highly accurate and work by detecting the unique genetic profile of the COVID-19 virus," he said.
"The process starts with a swab sample being taken from the back of the nose and throat of a patient.
"Inside a biological safety cabinet at the Longreach Hospital pathology laboratory, the scientist suspends the swab sample into a liquid medium. The liquid is then loaded into a single-use-only SARS-CoV-2 testing cartridge.
"The cabinet is a sterile environment, so it reduces contamination risk to the sample, and protects the scientist from aerosols/infection.
"It's quite amazing as an entire molecular diagnostic laboratory is packaged into this tiny cartridge.
"Through sonic sound, the sample releases its genetic material and then the reagents are added in.
"The GeneXpert analyser repeatedly heats and cools the sample and illuminates it with LED light colours to make the DNA amplification happen.
"If there is SARS-CoV-2 RNA present, the sample grows brighter, which is detected by a colour detector. This is a positive sample. If there is no colour change, it is a negative sample."
Dr Walker said the PCR test was gold standard and extremely accurate.
"The whole process, from preparation to result, takes less than one hour,'' he said.
Having a fast diagnosis for COVID-19, influenza A and B, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus, which can also affect older people with heart, lungs or immune system problems, will improve treatment options for patients.
"In addition, the rapid detection of such viruses is an important factor for controlling and isolating outbreaks," Dr Walker said. "In the future, new analysis cartridge packages being developed for the GeneXpert system also could be used to identify other viruses such as enterovirus and norovirus which can be responsible for outbreaks of sickness in our region.''
