Expertise and supplies from the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences are helping the island to battle Covid-19.

Rachel Parsons Biggs, a BIOS microbiologist, was seconded to Helix Bermuda, the forensics and clinical testing company where testing for the disease has been carried out for about a month.

A press release from the marine research organisation explained that Ms Parsons, a doctoral candidate with expertise in sequencing and bioinformatics, started working at the laboratory owned and run by Desiree Spriggs in the middle of March.

It added that Helix Bermuda was the first company on the island to have its real time PCR — polymerase chain reaction — instrument validated for testing of the Sars-Cov-2 virus.

The press release explained: “Parsons uses a similar PCR instrument at BIOS for her research into marine microbes and is leveraging that experience into manpower to run Covid-19 tests on a daily basis.

“Under the leadership of Dr Spriggs, along with Marshalita Tota, the senior medical technologist and laboratory manager at Helix, Parsons works in the lab to process samples collected by nurses from the Bermuda Department of Health for the purpose of epidemiological surveillance.

“The Helix team has also been working on implementing and validating testing kits and a new protocol, now accepted worldwide, that is more sensitive with regard to detecting Covid-19 infections.

“Supplies and reagents from the numerous labs and research programs at BIOS are being used by Helix Bermuda, empowering the company to carry out vital Covid-19 testing when local supplies have been low.”

The press release said that donations to support testing were made from a laboratory run by BIOS scientist Julius Barsi, the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study, the BIOS-Scope programme and the Zooplankton Ecology group.

Ms Parsons said: “We have had amazing support from the Pan American Health Organization and Dr Spriggs’ contacts in Cayman, Public Health England, the Caribbean Public Health Agency, and even some past BIOS faculty and staff who are familiar with real-time PCR.

“It has been an honour to work directly with these agencies and be a part of the Helix Bermuda team with Dr Spriggs and I appreciate the chance to assist with Bermuda’s response to this global pandemic.”