TEHRAN - Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador to the Vienna-based international organizations, said on Thursday that the International Atomic Energy Agency will send two sets of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to Iran to help fight the coronavirus.

“In addition to these two sets, personal protective equipment for the users of the sets, equipment for commissioning, upgrading and calibrating them and diagnostic kits using three techniques will also be sent,” Gharibabadi said, according to IRNA.

The IAEA issued a statement on Wednesday announcing dispatch of diagnostic machines and kits to more than 40 countries.

According to official website of the IAEA, the first batch of supplies, worth around €4 million, will help countries use the technique known as real-time RT-PCR). This is the most sensitive technique for detecting viruses currently available.

“Real-time RT-PCR is an established and accurate method to detect pathogens. We’ve seen the number of Member State requests for support to run such tests more than double in the past two weeks,” said Ivancho Naletoski, technical officer at the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/IAEA Division for Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. “Laboratories will receive diagnostic kits and accessories needed for the analysis, disposable protective gear and equipment for the molecular detection of this specific viral genome.”

NA/PA