Last Updated: 6/19/2020 2:00 PM CST
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a global pandemic. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei, China, and has progressively spread globally resulting in the current pandemic.
Common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. Other symptoms may include chills, repeated shaking with chills, fatigue, muscle pain, sore throat, a new loss of taste or smell, diarrhea and abdominal pain. The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is five days on average but may range from two to fourteen days. While the majority of cases result in no or mild symptoms, some progress to more severe symptoms that may include viral pneumonia and multi-organ failure. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is thought to spread from person to person in close contact through respiratory droplets, although some spread may also secondarily occur from touching contaminated public surfaces. It is highly contagious and recent evidence suggests that there may be significant numbers of infected but asymptomatic people that can unintentionally spread the virus.
Johns Hopkins University maintains a helpful resource center that includes global statistics on the pandemic, including an up to date case tracker. The site, not affiliated with AP2, can be viewed at https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/
Our lab has deployed an extensive program to protect our employees from exposure, consistent with guidelines by the CDC and local city and state agencies. This includes requiring the use of fabric and disposable masks, maintaining distancing, working remotely for staff that can do so, self-monitoring for symptoms, and promoting extensive handwashing and enhanced usage of sanitation/disinfection agents, among other measures.
We also joined the fight against the disease. As a laboratory company operating a top high complexity molecular laboratory, we mobilized our team of laboratorians and Ph.D. scientists to rapidly develop and deploy a swab-based nucleic acid test to identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus and provide high quality, timely results. Great care has been taken to validate our test off a diverse range of specimen collectors and transport media in order to provide maximum flexibility to first responders and other team members collecting specimens. We have also deployed automation in the laboratory to be able to handle large volumes and allow us to scale up as testing demands increase. We are ready.
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, AP2 operates leading laboratories providing anatomic pathology as well as clinical and molecular testing services in Colorado, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. We perform all high complexity nucleic acid testing at UniPath, our Colorado-based flagship molecular laboratory. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have undertaken the following efforts in support of patients, providers, governmental agencies, health departments, educational institutions, and employers.
Test Offering:
Testing Programs:
Please click the links below to access a general list of frequently asked questions relating to our COVID-19 testing.
For Patients:
SARS-CoV-2 Detection Test
SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibody Test
For Providers:
SARS-CoV-2 Detection Test
SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibody Test
Please also visit the CDC website for more information on the novel coronavirus. The website contains helpful resources to assist patients and healthcare professionals in the evaluation and management of COVID-19.