LSU-HSC EVT LAB MILESTONE- In February 2020 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized the COVID-19 PCR test because of its high accuracy. It has been considered the “gold standard” for detecting covid-19 infection. And in the first weeks of the detection of the disease, LSU-Health Shreveport established a special lab to deal with Emerging Viral Threats – it became known as the EVT Lab, and its major function was to process covid-19 diagnostic tests - This week the LSU-Health Shreveport’s EVT Lab reached a notable milestone as it has processed it’s 500,000th Covid-19 PCR test. This was commemorated yesterday afternoon with a press conference – Dr. Jennifer Carroll is director of operations for the EVT Lab.
"When the lab was being set up in March of 2020 by our really world-renowned virologists that are here at LSU Health Shreveport, something probably lots of people don't know," Carroll explained. "They sweated and cried and pulled out their hair for months getting this set up to be the machine that it is today."
Since it first began processing COVID-19 tests in March 2020, the EVT Lab has only continued to grow in its capabilities. Dr. Carroll expressed confidence that the EVT lab has the capacity to do even more.
"We have been happy to tell the state that we can take as many samples as they need us to test," Carroll said.
The LSU-HEALTH Shreveport EVT Lab has also made more than 220,000 viral test kits for distribution across the state. To learn more: www.lsuhs.edu/covid19