While the summer holidays are at their peak and we all want to spend them with our loved ones carefree, the cases of the coronavirus continue to be at high levels. Carrying out timely and reliable covid tests is considered necessary to be able to enjoy the summer safely and to help prevent the spread of the virus.
When do we do a molecular test and when do we do a rapid test? Can genetic mutations of SARS-CoV-2 affect the effectiveness of tests? What has the pandemic taught us and how do we stand in front of health challenges and imperatives? Biopathologist Georgia Pinna, Scientific Director at the LabCare Diagnostic Center based in Piraeus, gives us the answers to everything we want to know about covid-19 diagnostic tests.
What distinguishes covid-19 diagnostic tests with a rapid test compared to a molecular test? What are the advantages that accompany each type of examination?
The rapid tests detect antigens (proteins) on the surface of the virus using the immunochromatography method. They have good specificity but lower sensitivity (more false negative results) compared to molecular tests. But they are faster, cheaper and easier to execute. They are very effective in the case of infectious individuals with a high viral load, being for this reason the test of choice for epidemiological surveillance in areas where there is a high degree of co-homing as they lead to the immediate identification and isolation of cases, thus contributing to the reduction of the spread of the virus.
With the molecular test (PCR) the genetic material of the virus is isolated (polymerase chain reaction with reverse transcription is applied thus detecting two different targets of the viral genome of SARS-CoV-2). Although the method is more expensive and more time-consuming compared to the rapid test, it remains to this day, the choice with the greatest sensitivity and specificity.
When should someone be tested for covid-19? After all, can “asymptomatic” patients be identified only by molecular testing?
Molecular testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus should be used and evaluated very carefully by doctors and always in conjunction with the rapid test.
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