Home » News » Koronatest, Koronaviruset | New test method for covid-19 will make it easier and less painful

Koronatest, Koronaviruset | New test method for covid-19 will make it easier and less painful

New pilot study starts after the summer holidays.

So far, the coronary tests in Norway have been carried out with invasive nose and throat tests which are described by many as painful.

In addition, the test method is relatively time-consuming and inefficient, which requires a lot of use of infection control equipment.

Also read: No more medical evaluation required to get coronal test

Bill Gates: – A mistake

In an interview with Wired recently featured Bill Gates the tests in this way:

Health workers push a deep turbine at the very back of your nose, which actually hurts and makes you sneeze at the healthy health workers. We have shown that the quality of the results can be just as good if you carry out a test yourself by taking a cotton swab into the tip of your nose, Gates said.

– The usual tests are a mistake, because they take a long time, he points out.

Also read: This is the treatment Bill Gates would have had if he became covid-19 ill


Today’s test method for corona involves sticking such a stick far into the nose.
Photo: Heiko Junge (NTB scanpix)

A new test is being developed in Norway – but it is not ready yet

At the beginning of June, it became known that Norway was working on the development of a new saliva sample that would be able to replace the current invasive tests.

The aim of the test is that it should be considerably faster to carry out the actual sampling. A less invasive test will also lower the list to get people to test themselves, not least for children.

Also read: The health authorities will use saliva samples as a coronal test

This test has not been fully tested during the summer holidays:

– This summer, the Norwegian Directorate of Health has carried out a pilot project in Oslo with testing saliva samples instead of nose / throat samples to detect coronavirus. The project is led by the Norwegian Directorate of Health in collaboration with NIPH, Oslo Municipality, as well as the microbiological laboratory at Oslo University Hospital and Fürst Laboratories. Simultaneous samples from the nose / throat and saliva sample have been taken and tested for sars-CoV-2, and the results are compared, the National Institute of Public Health informs Nettavisen.

They state that it has not been concluded whether they are accurate enough.

– One will then examine logistics and user-friendliness in a new pilot study after the summer holidays. On the basis of this, the Norwegian Directorate of Health will assess whether saliva samples can be used as a good alternative in covid-19 testing. This could increase the test capacity by making less demands on the presence of health personnel and thus also on the use of infection control equipment, they say.

After sampling, the tests will be sent to the laboratory in the usual way.

According to the Norwegian Directorate of Health, the goal is for the tests to be introduced before the new year.

Good results from abroad

The scientific journal Nature announced before the weekend that a new saliva test developed at Yale has shown very good results.

– Compared to the gold standard with nose and throat tests, saliva test is less invasive, must not be performed by healthcare professionals and one avoids using special chemicals that are necessary to store and extract RNA. In experiments, it turned out that the test method SalivaDirect gave results in 32 of 34 samples that had tested positive with a regular test, writes Nature.

According to the journal, they have now applied to the US Medicines Agency for so-called emergency authorization to be able to use the test.

Also read: A corona vaccine for emergency use may be ready this autumn – Norway will not use it

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