Australian researchers have made a critical breakthrough in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, successfully growing the live virus from patients in NSW. A team of 10 scientists at a state-of-the-art biosecurity P4 laboratory in Westmead Hospital have been working around the clock to cultivate the virus. It’s hoped that the breakthrough will help health experts around the world develop accurate and fast diagnostic tools to contain the outbreak. A researcher works on the virus at their lab in Westmead Hospital. (NSW Health) "Early and accurate diagnosis of infectious and deadly viruses is critical because undiagnosed patients can unknowingly transmit it to others," said Health Minister Brad Hazzard. "But unless clinicians understand the epidemiology of the disease – how it behaves and replicates – they can’t develop reliable diagnostic testing to identify and contain it. "A team of elite NSW researchers have achieved this by undertaking genome sequencing of […]