Martek Lifecare launches Covid-19 occupational screening tests to help employers prevent and manage outbreaks

98.6% detection rate within the first 5.5 days of infection | Prevent asymptomatic transmission which may account for 50% of cases

In response to the new EU and IMO Guidelines designed to protect seafarers, Martek Lifecare (part of James Fisher and Sons plc) have been working hard behind the scenes to provide essential industry screening test to stop COVID-19 infection.

This week we have launched CoronaSafe^TM, a finger prick antibody screening test and with one single drop of blood, it will detect IgM antibodies within 5-7 days of infection. The test has been proven in extensive clinical trials of 570 patients during the recent outbreak to deliver >95% accurate diagnosis of COVID-19.

Preventing COVID-19 transmission into the workplace is now amongst the highest priorities for all company executives and it’s widely accepted that testing is key to the global exit strategy from the disease. Martek Lifecare (Martek), part of James Fisher and Sons plc, has launched COVID-19 occupational screening, combining antigen and antibody testing. Both kinds of tests help employers make decisions about measures to prevent an outbreak and inform critical return to work decisions.

Martek’s Antigen tests screen directly for the virus itself providing soonest possible detection. Samples are taken using swabs from the nose and throat and are sent to a UKAS accredited laboratory for machine processing, delivering results within 2 days.

By implementing a combined antibody and antigen test protocol, esteemed medical opinion reports a 98.6% detection rate within the first 5.5 days of infection¹. Infected employees without symptoms pose the biggest risk to employers and an article in the British Medical Journal³ reports that four fifths of cases are asymptomatic. According to McKinsey², studies in China and Singapore report that asymptomatic transmission may account for ~50% of cases.

Such employees left undiagnosed (i.e. without pre- screening) would potentially spread the infection throughout the workplace, while being totally oblivious. Antibody tests are the most effective and appropriate way to diagnose this category of subject, with 97% clinical specificity. Research by McKinsey² concludes that, “Antibody tests are currently the best method for detecting asymptomatic cases.”

Martek’s CoronaSafe^TM antibody test is approved and certified by the European Union as meeting the safety, quality and performance requirements of Standard IVDD 98/79/EC – the highest standard applicable for these devices. It’s also in wide scale use by authorities/corporations in Japan, China

Germany, Poland, Indonesia and is formally certified by the China Food and Drug Administration, Philippines Food and Drug Administration and the Singapore Health Sciences Authority.

Martek’s CEO Paul Luen commented: “Screening employees through a regimen of combined antigen and antibody testing is a critical step to prevent avoidable transmission from asymptomatic employees while informing critical return to work decisions.”

Major corporations worldwide are rushing to adopt these occupational screening tests to help control the spread of this deadly virus, with demand rising rapidly as the crisis deepens. Martek, which has limited supply of the tests, is urging employers to act quickly to define their policy for occupational screening, in order to maintain – or return to – normal operations while protecting the health and well-being of their employlees.