Soon, We Might Be Able to Test for Active COVID-19 Infection Without a Swab Test

By
Rae Woo
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Some people may actually be more afraid of having something getting stuck up their noses when going for COVID-19 swab tests rather than the actual results.

Is that really the only, unavoidable way for people to test if they have contracted COVID-19? Apparently not, now that a new method that doesn’t involve swab testing has been developed.

New Detection Kit

Yesterday (17 Sept), local biotech company Veredus Laboratories launched a new COVID-19 test kit, called the VereRT Covid-19 PCR Kit, that greatly reduces the time taken to identify infected patients.

Image: Veredus Laboratories

Applying the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process in the tests, the kit allows for the virus to be detected directly from the sample without needing to extract its viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) to check for the presence of the virus. The RNA is a component that stores the genetic information of the virus.

And yes, this is a PCRE test and not an antibody test. To understand the difference between these two tests, check out this video:

How Is It Different?

Normally, swab tests for PCR tests are done by taking a nasal swab sample by sticking a swab up patients’ noses. After being placed in a virus medium, it will then be sent to a laboratory, where the RNA is extracted.

Following that, a PCR test will then be conducted to check for the presence of the coronavirus, also known as the Sars-CoV-2 virus.

However, in order to stabilise and preserve the RNA in the new test kit, a specially formulated preservation buffer will be added to the swab or saliva sample, after which it can immediately be put through the PCR test.

This would save about 40 minutes of time taken, reducing the total time taken for processing of the test to between half an hour and one and a half hours. Regular PCR tests can take up to two hours to administer.

10 copies of RNA viral samples will be needed to detect the virus, a number that is comparable to other PCR test kits, said the company.

The test kit has already obtained a provisional authorisation from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), which has allowed for the sale of and supply of kits to use on patients in Singapore and overseas since June this year.

But it’s the next point that’s interesting.

There’s Also A Saliva Kit

Instead of taking nasal swab samples which many might find uncomfortable, the company’s other offering called the ZeroPrep Saliva Collection Kit uses the same method to identify the presence of the virus via samples of saliva instead.

Patients have to collect 1ml of their saliva in a funnel, where it will later be mixed with the solution to preserve the viral RNA (if there is any lah).

Rosemary Tan, the chief executive of Veredus Laboratories, said that saliva testing can be self-administered, unlike swab tests.

“It does not require trained medical personnel to perform the swabbing procedure and it is a non-invasive method for those who feel uncomfortable with being swabbed,” she added.

However, it has a lower sensitivity rate as compared to the nasal swab testing kit, yet it still proves useful in identifying asymptomatic patients. At least 25 RNA copies are needed for the virus to be detected with this test kit.

The saliva test kit is still pending approval from the Health Sciences Authority, but once approved, it will be the first of its kind in Singapore that doesn’t require the extraction process, said Tan.

Veredus Laboratories are also looking into exporting these kits to Japan, where saliva testing has already been approved. Both test kits have a 99% success rate in detecting COVID-19 as well.

Tan also commented that this would increase the testing capacity of health authorities and laboratories in detecting the virus while reducing workflow complexities.

Here’s to the new future of COVID-19 tests.

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Rae Woo
Email: [email protected]