The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Nov. 3 officially approved a domestically made reagent to diagnose both COVID-19 and flu. (Korea.net DB)

By Lee Kyoung Mi and Lee Jihae

With the approach of winter fueling fears of a simultaneous attack by both COVID-19 and influenza, a domestically developed reagent that can diagnose both diseases has appeared. 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Nov. 3 said it officially approved a reagent made by Kogene Biotech that diagnoses both the coronavirus and flu.

Within three to six hours, the reagent can diagnose both diseases, which are hard to distinguish due to similar symptoms such as sore throat and fever. The reduction in diagnostic time and faster treatment boost patient convenience and lessen the burden of medical staff, the ministry said.

Previous reagents for the simultaneous diagnosis of COVID-19 and flu had been for export only. As of Nov. 3, 13 of the 197 test reagents for COVID-19 diagnosis approved for export by the ministry could diagnose the two ailments.

Domestically developed reagents for COVID-19 diagnosis have been exported to 347.23 million users in 160 countries including India, the U.S., Brazil, Italy, Indonesia and the Netherlands.

The net worth of such exports this year through September was KRW 1.39 trillion (USD 1.20 billion), up 187% from the combined exports of invitro diagnostic reagents last year worth KRW 485.5 billion. By year's end, the increase rate is expected to reach 200%.