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The World Health Organization, together with its global partners in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, has announced that it will provide 120 million rapid diagnostic antigen tests to people in low- and middle-income countries over the next six months. The tests represent a “massive increase” in testing around the world, according to the Global Fund, an association that works to end epidemics.
“We have an agreement, we have seed funding and now we need the full amount of funds to purchase these tests,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday, without providing further details. The program will initially require $ 600 million (511 million euros) and is scheduled to start from October.
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This massive testing campaign is part of a global initiative launched in April by the WHO, the European Commission, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the French government. Other partner organizations include the Global Fund, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), and Unitaid.
The test manufacturers, South Korea’s SD BioSensor and US-based Abbott Laboratories, have agreed to supply 20% of their test kits to low- and middle-income countries. The rest will be available to wealthier nations, some of which are helping to fund the test drive. Germany, for example, has already ordered some 20 million test kits.
Rapid testing can break chains of infection
“These tests provide reliable results in approximately 15 to 30 minutes, rather than hours or days, at a lower price with less sophisticated equipment,” said WHO Director Tedros, adding that the tests would cost as little as $ 5. (€ 4.30) each He said rapid tests would help expand testing to hard-to-reach areas that are not as well equipped or lack trained health personnel.
“High-quality rapid tests show us where the virus is hiding, which is key to quickly tracing and isolating contacts and breaking chains of transmission,” Tedros said. “Testing is a critical tool for governments seeking to reopen economies and ultimately save lives and livelihoods.”
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Catharina Boehme, Director of FIND, also welcomed the widespread launch of inexpensive test kits. “This really shows what can be achieved when the world and major global health partners come together with a common priority,” he said.
How do COVID-19 antigen tests work?
There are currently three different types of coronavirus diagnostic tests on the market: antigen tests, polymerase chain reaction tests (PCR) and serological tests (ELISA).
Rapid antigen tests target virus proteins and look a bit like pregnancy tests. They are not yet available in pharmacies and can only be administered by trained medical personnel. Using a nasal or throat swab, testers can find out in about 15 minutes if a patient has contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus and is infectious and should be quarantined.
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The advantage of rapid antigen tests is that they can be performed quickly and on the spot.
This is expected to help save the lives of thousands of people and slow the spread of the pandemic in the world’s poorest countries. Rapid antigen tests can be used for mass screening among healthcare workers in low-income countries, who are at increased risk of death from COVID-19. These tests could also be used in schools, in the workplace, and in nursing homes and nursing homes.
The main disadvantage of rapid antigen tests is that they are less reliable than PCR tests, which are performed in laboratories and are designed to detect the genetic material of the virus. Rapid antigen tests may also be less effective at detecting infections in the early stages.
However, a growing number of medical experts support the mass launch of antigen tests, as they allow to identify infected people even before they show symptoms, when people have a high viral load and are especially infectious.
Not all rapid test kits are reliable
Hundreds of rapid COVID-19 test kits have recently been released. Many of them are reliable, but not all. In March, for example, Spain returned two lots of unlicensed Chinese test kits because they had flaws.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has noted that although many tests have been approved for sale in the European market, very few clinical studies show whether they are actually effective.
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The 120 million test kits to be released by WHO are the first to meet all the organization’s standards; Test makers SD BioSensor and Abbott received emergency approval from the WHO last week.
Manufacturers claim that their tests are up to 97% reliable under laboratory conditions; In the real world, the tests are said to be between 80% and 90% reliable. While this is good, it also means that around 20% of patients will receive negative results despite being infected, which could lead to further spread of the virus.
What are the alternatives to antigen testing?
Rapid antigen tests are ideal for evaluating patient scores quickly, easily and inexpensively. However, laboratory PCR tests are superior in terms of reliability.
The PCR test detects genetic material, or RNA, from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Patients are asked to provide a throat swab. A part of the person’s genetic material is then synthesized, after which a biochemical process known as agarose gel electrophoresis is used to detect whether the sample contains RNA from the virus. These tests are highly reliable but can only be performed in specialized laboratories.
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Serological tests, on the other hand, detect antibodies in a person’s blood that are formed when the immune system responds to a certain pathogen. This indicates that a person has already been exposed to the virus. While there are rapid test kits available for this method, these are used primarily for scientific studies.
This article has been translated from German by Benjamin Restle.
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