Department of Health (DOH)-Central Visayas Chief Pathologist Mary Jean Loreche. (File photo)
CEBU CITY – The Department of Health (DOH) in Central Visayas is conducting a “verification study” for the antigen test as a new tool in detecting coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infection.
Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, DOH-7 chief pathologist and spokesperson on Covid-19, said the Center for Health Development’s Cebu TB Reference Laboratory here is doing validation on the 12 antigen kits approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“Antigen test is fast and easy. You will have the result in 45 minutes to one hour, unlike RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) test nga ang pinakadugay (which is) 24 hours,” Loreche said in a virtual press briefing on Monday.
She explained that the “third test modality already out in the market” tests “fragment of the virus”, the result of which will come out after adding a chemical to the fragment of the viral RNA (Ribonucleic acid).
Antigen tests can detect if a person is currently infected with the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome – coronavirus 2), which causes Covid-19, she said.
The new method of testing coronavirus uses swab samples, unlike the antibody testing used in serological surveillance or diagnosing the active and current viral load of the patient.
The DOH-7 chief pathologist, however, warned about the “high false negativity” of the new tool in testing coronavirus, thus the ongoing study to separate groups of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients here.
The antigen test, she said, is much cheaper as compared to the RT-PCR test.
Meanwhile, Loreche said the pooled swab testing to vendors at the Carbon Public Market will be conducted on Sept. 30, Oct. 1, and 2, to detect Covid-19 infections in Cebu’s largest wet market located in this capital city.
The city government here has supported the pooled swab test of the Project ARK, in collaboration with the business community and the Emergency Operations Center of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. (PNA)
