Australian scientists successfully grow China's new coronavirus in lab

Scientists from the Peter Doherty Institute in Australia's Melbourne have successfully grown a Wuhan coronavirus from a patient sample for the first time, the Institute's statement said.

"Scientists frome the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) in Melbourne have successfully grown the Wuhan coronavirus from a patient sample, which will provide expert international laboratories with crucial information to help combat the virus," the statement said.

"Having the real virus means we now have the ability to actually validate and verify all test methods, and compare their sensitivities and specificities," The Royal Melbourne Hospital's Dr Julian Druce was quoted as saying.

"The virus will be used as positive control material for the Australian network of public health laboratories, and also shipped to expert laboratories working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe," he added.