Development of Genetic Diagnostic Methods for Novel Coronavirus 2019 (nCoV-2019) in Japan

At the end of 2019, pneumonia caused by novel coronavirus 2019 (nCoV) emerged inWuhan city, China. Many airline travelers moved between Wuhan and Japan at thattime, suggesting that Japan is at high risk of invasion by the virus. Diagnosticsystems for 2019-nCoV were developed with urgency. Two nested RT-PCR assays andtwo real-time RT-PCR assays were adapted to local Japanese conditions. As of 8February 2020, the assays developed have successfully detected 25 positive casesof infection in Japan.