The Haute Autorité de santé has just approved them for study, but there is still a long way to go to improve their reliability.
CORONAVIRUS - Finie, la tige qui vient jusqu’au fond de la narine pour dénicher la moindre trace de coronavirus? Pas si sûr. Car les tests salivaires ne sont pas près de remplacer les tests nasopharyngés, better known under the name of tests PCR. “data-reactid =” 24 “> CORONAVIRUS – Gone, the rod that goes to the back of the nostril to find the slightest trace of coronavirus? Not so sure. Because saliva tests are not about to replace the tests nasopharyngés, better known under the name of tests PCR.
Even if the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) has just approved them on Monday, August 10 on an experimental basis, the last step before their possible implementation, they remain under study for the moment.
she writes. “data-reactid =” 26 “>” After having analyzed all the scientific literature available on these tests, the HAS considers that important elements of reliability are still lacking for immediate generalized use as an alternative to nasopharyngeal tests “, she writes.
A virus less present in saliva
detect the virus via saliva would be much less invasive, faster and would test more people. But the viral concentration remains lower in the mouth than in the mucus at the bottom of the nasal passage, and therefore becomes more difficult to detect, as shown by this study carried out last May. “data-reactid =” 28 “> Yet power detect the virus via saliva would be much less invasive, faster and would test more people. But the viral concentration remains lower in the mouth than in the mucus at the bottom of the nasal passage, and therefore becomes more difficult to detect, as shown by this study carried out last May.
TF1. “data-reactid =” 29 “>” Saliva contains a lot of things, in particular enzymes. The sample in the nose makes it possible to recover molecules, unlike that in the throat “, explained Professor Christine Rouzioux, virologist and member of the Academy of Medicine, on TF1.
The problem of false negatives
Thus, the experimental phase of the tests “will make it possible to precisely define the optimal conditions of use (…) as well as the reliability that can be expected from them”, specifies the HAS. The latter “will be attentive to the first results of the study, in order to trigger, if necessary, the evaluation process for generalized care, in the indications that it will have defined”.
incidence rate alert threshold. “data-reactid =” 32 “> Before they can be used massively, saliva tests must therefore be more precise on what they identify, to avoid false negatives, namely people considered not to be carriers of the virus while they are in fact positive, a necessity since several municipalities, including the city of Paris, have crossed the incidence rate alert threshold.
identified more than 5 million cases and more than 160,000 deaths according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. “data-reactid =” 33 “> In the United States, these samples have been authorized since the end of July, to deal with the health emergency Tuesday August 11, the country identified more than 5 million cases and more than 160,000 deaths according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Covid-19: how are compulsory tests carried out at Roissy?” data-reactid=”34″>See also on The HuffPost: Covid-19: how are compulsory tests carried out at Roissy?
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The HuffPost and has been updated.” data-reactid=”40″>This article originally appeared on The HuffPost and has been updated.
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