Promising Findings About Norway’s New Weapons

Norwegian health authorities report promising results from what is known as the world’s largest study of rapid tests for COVID-19. Norwegian Test General Espen Rostrup Nakstad is very optimistic.

He says the study shows that rapid tests detect almost as many coronary patients as standard coronary tests, also called PCR tests.

However, rapid tests allow you to test significantly more, thus also detecting more cases. They also contribute significantly faster responses, as well as reducing the load on hospital labs, which analyze more than 100,000 corona tests a week.

“It is a great advantage that we can use rapid tests that are so reliable and that allow us to test more, detect outbreaks faster and thus have better control of the pandemic,” Nakstad told Dagbladet. He is deputy director of health and leader of the TISK steering group.

8 out of 10

The study includes 5,000 rapid tests from the manufacturer Abbott. 3,991 of them were performed at Aker Hospital in Oslo, while 866 of them were performed in outbreaks in Norway.

Nakstad says the study shows that rapid tests detected 84 percent of coronary heart disease with symptoms.

Norway has secured five million of these rapid tests for NOK 280 million. One million of them will be distributed throughout Norway, while four million rapid tests will be saved for major outbreaks.

Delays

Delays have been a recurring problem for the Norwegian health authorities. First, it takes a few days from when you get infected until you develop symptoms, and then it takes a few days from when you get tested and until you get the test result. With rapid tests, it only takes 15 minutes from the moment you are tested until you get a response.

Denmark has chosen not to use rapid tests in relation to infection detection as a result of a French study showing that Abbott’s rapid tests are only 50 to 60 percent accurate. Health Minister Bent Høie scoffs at criticism of the rapid tests and refers to the new Norwegian findings.

“Norway has simply carried out perhaps the most comprehensive study of rapid tests, adapted to Norwegian conditions, and the results fortunately show that the tests are good enough and recommended by our health authorities,” Høie told Dagbladet.

– What are the major weaknesses of rapid tests?

– The weakness is that if you want to know if someone has this virus, who has been sick for more than six days, it is better with a traditional test. In such situations, it is more sensitive. Then you can also discuss how contagious it is at the time, as it becomes less and less contagious as time goes on, says Nakstad.

The study shows that because routine coronary tests are more accurate, their use is still recommended for diagnosing seriously ill and hospitalized patients. Periodic corona tests are also recommended for people without symptoms.

Applications

On the other hand, it is strongly recommended to use rapid tests in places where it takes a long time to get a response to a laboratory test. Rapid tests are also recommended when a covid-19 outbreak is suspected, so that the outbreak can be detected, mapped, and started immediately.

In heavily infected areas, it may also be relevant to test health institution employees and residents regularly with rapid tests. It may also be relevant to test visitors with quick tests.

In addition, the Norwegian Health Directorate will assess whether it is appropriate to use rapid tests for business travelers and at airports, ports and border crossings. It is also being considered whether rapid tests are adequate for screening, that is, testing large numbers of people for a hidden infection.

Looking at rapid tests

Last week, the municipality of Indre Østfold became the first municipality in Norway to introduce the requirement of a negative coronation test for relatives in nursing homes. This requirement includes standard corona tests, so-called PCR tests. City manager Kenneth Johannesen tells Dagbladet that rapid tests are also continuing.

– Now we see that the experiment carried out in Oslo with rapid tests shows very promising results. Therefore, we have started a review of how we in the Indre Østfold municipality can also use this testing methodology in our work, says Johannessen to Dagbladet and continues:

– But for now, we require family testing using PCR and not rapid testing, and then as a supplement to all other infection control measures.

Open nursing homes

The reason for the trial regime in the nursing homes in the Indre Østfold municipality is to be able to keep the nursing homes open for visits as long as possible, in the safest way possible.

– For the most part, we have received positive feedback on most of the measures that we have come up with. There is widespread knowledge in the population that this is a well thought out part of a strategy to keep nursing homes open and infection free, says Johannessen and continues:

– We have also received feedback that this may be perceived as demanding for various visiting family members, especially those who visit nursing homes frequently.