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Swedish researchers have developed a rapid test to find out if someone is infected with the coronavirus. The test can give answers in 2.5 hours and is cheaper and easier than previous tests, reports Swedish radio Ekot.
– Since the method is simpler and cheaper, you could set up covid-19 tests under much simpler conditions, and it would also be very suitable for recurring tests, says Björn Reinius, research leader in the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska. The Institute, to Ekot.
The test was completed in April, but has now been reviewed and published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
The new test can skip steps in the usual PCR tests, something that according to Björn Reinius reduces logistics and therefore the time required.
Plus, the test doesn’t rely on expensive reagent kits, which quickly became a rare commodity this spring.
Reliability has been compared using 600 samples.
The reliability of the test method has been evaluated and compared with around 600 samples taken using traditional diagnostics.
– In that comparison, the concordance between ours and that method was 98 percent, if positive and negative results are combined, Björn Reinius tells Ekot.
According to Björn Reinius, the new test method is necessary to meet the need for extensive testing required during a pandemic.
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