A number of ‘rapid’ coronavirus tests are on the way for Australians with the government confirming it’s procuring 1.5 million testing kits, which can provide results in as little as three minutes.
Federal health minister Greg Hunt announced on March 24 a number of ‘finger-prick’ tests would be deployed to Australia to help with testing the general population for coronavirus. Gizmodo Australia has confirmed with the Department of Health it was working on getting 1.5 million of them, which is considerable given the number of tested Australians remains just over 200,000.
How the rapid ‘finger-prick’ coronavirus tests work
The country’s medical regulator, Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), fast-tracked the approval of nine ‘point of care’ tests meaning those manufacturers from the U.S. and China will now be able to sell kits for use in the country.
Unlike the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests being used in Australia up until now, which require samples to be sent to pathology labs around the country and face a results delay of around three days, these ‘rapid’ tests will provide almost instant results.
A finger-prick will take a sample of the testee’s blood, which will then be tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies found in confirmed coronavirus cases.
The new tests, however, won’t replace the PCR tests but will instead help supplement them so more people can be tested in shorter timeframes.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/03/how-coronavirus-is-tested-in-australia/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/coronavirustest-410×231.jpg” title=”How Coronavirus Is Tested In Australia” excerpt=”With the number of confirmed coronavirus infections steadily rising in the country’s major cities, it’s likely more and more Australians with suspected symptoms will head in to get tested. In order to better understand how the process works, we asked the Department of Health what happens when you’re required to test.”]
One provider, Cellmid’s COVID-19 Rapid Test, claims it can deliver a positive result in three minutes while all results should be available within 15.
Given the tests were able to provide results within a shorter timeframe ” some, like Cellmid’s, in as little as three minutes ” Gizmodo Australia asked the health department about their margin of error.
“While these tests can provide an indication of exposure to SARS CoV-2, the antibodies may take between 5-7 days to develop,” a health department spokesperson told Gizmodo Australia in a statement.
“False negative results can be obtained if testing is performed prior to development of antibodies to the virus.”
The TGA also concedes false-positive and false-negative results can occur if a person has had or is experiencing a common cold.
“Human coronaviruses circulate frequently every year and cause a common cold type illness. Cross reaction with antibodies formed by current and past exposure to seasonal human coronavirus infections can cause false-positive results,” the TGA’s site reads.
“In addition, the false-negative rate associated with these lateral flow devices is not known. False-negative results pose a significant risk to outbreak control and management.”
Despite these drawbacks, when paired with a clinical examination and further PCR testing, doctors will be able to treat suspected coronavirus cases and order quarantines to avoid further spread.
Gizmodo Australia has reached out to a number of virologists for comment on the efficacy of these rapid tests and what they could help achieve with stringent testing criteria still being in place.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/03/australia-to-begin-tuberculosis-vaccine-trial-for-coronavirus/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/clinicaltrials-410×231.jpg” title=”Australia To Begin Tuberculosis Vaccine Trial For Coronavirus” excerpt=”An Australian trial for a coronavirus vaccine is set to start within weeks in the hopes of finding something that’ll offer some relief on stressed healthcare systems in the country. It’ll use an existing tuberculosis vaccine and it hopes the ready-made option will help boost immune systems of those on the frontline fighting the virus.”]