As Udow-Phillips and other public health experts note, the lag time for a PCR test leaves a critical void in prevention of COVID-19 spread.
By the time a test result is back, a single individual could become a “superspreader,” unwittingly passing on the virus to others.
A rapid-result test also carries practical benefits for families, schools and businesses, vastly reducing the time that a working adult or child must remain in quarantine before they can be cleared of COVID-19.
Still, even with more than a hundred tests approved under an emergency umbrella by the FDA, no single rapid test has proven reliability comparable to standard PCR tests.
Earlier in the coronavirus outbreak, tests to detect antibodies that people develop after infection from the coronavirus were thought to be key to reopening the economy. But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a caution in May about the accuracy of those tests amid reports of widespread false negative and positive results.
The same month, the FDA warned doctors of accuracy issues with Abbott Laboratories' rapid ID Now test, which delivers results in 15 minutes. The test had been widely used to screen President Donald Trump, his staff and visitors to the White House.
That alert followed a preliminary report by New York University that found the Abbott test could miss nearly half of positive cases depending on how the tests were handled. Researchers at Stanford University, Loyola University and the Cleveland Clinic noted similar problems in accuracy in preliminary reports on the test.
The test developed by Beaumont researchers employs technology previously used to detect the zika virus spread by mosquitos, with a key advantage that it is inexpensive and easy to administer and process. It can be used with blood and urine samples as well as saliva swabs.
In their research, collection samples were introduced to a test tube containing molecular biologic reagents. The tube is heated to about 130 degrees. Lamb said just about any heat source will do — chemical hand warmers, warm water bath or a basic test device known as a heat block that can be bought for as little as $100.
If the test is positive, the test tube turns color from orange to yellow. It will also glow if illuminated by a fluorescent light. The Beaumont testing was conducted with both simulated patient samples and clinical patient samples.
Lamb said researchers released a preliminary version of the study in late February on a platform that made it open for medical groups around the world to review. Since then, she said, it’s been downloaded more than 10,000 times.
“They have been able to reproduce this test,” she said.
At Northern Michigan University, a clinical molecular biologist said he was able to replicate the Beaumont Health results in a series of tests run in late March and early April.
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July 07, 2020 at 02:52AM
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Michigan hospital: Our coronavirus test gives results in minutes, not days - Bridge Michigan
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