Implementação do núcleo de apoio à detecção e pesquisa clínica da COVID-19 no Hospital Naval Marcílio Dias

Abstract

The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic in March 2020. The first documented case of the disease in Brazil occurred on February 26; later, the Molecular Biological Laboratory (Laboratório de Biologia Molecular — LBM) of the Biomedical Research Institute (Instituto de Pesquisas Biomédicas — IPB)/Hospital Naval Marcílio Dias (HNMD) carried out its first molecular tests to detect the new virus. This paper presents an overview of the implemen-tation of the Support Center for COVID-19 Detection and Clinical Research (Núcleo de Apoio à Detecção e Pesquisa Clínica da COVID-19 — NADPC-COVID-19) in the IPB/HNMD, aimed at supplying the Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil — MB) with human capital and infrastructure to support the diagnostic pro-cess and promote scientific discoveries that can generate new kno-wledge and technologies. The challenges faced in this research included remodeling the existing space; acquiring new know-ledge, materials, and equipment; and recruiting and training mili-tary and civilian personnel, according to biosafety standards. Over this period, approximately 6 thousand samples were processed, and results were delivered within 24 h. In addition, studies have been developed in partnership with renowned scientific institutions. The implementation of the NADPC represented the HNMD independence as to the gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis in difficult times. The current LBM structure leaves a legacy to MB, which now has a robust knowledge space in molecular biology and virology. In line with the mission of the Navy Force, an efficient structure was built to minimize possible damage from biological threats. Thus, this study aimed to contribute to the diagnostic pro-cess, high-level research, and defense of our homeland.