Some tests do not detect the Omikron variant, especially antigenic ones, virologist Prof. Włodzimierz Gut. He emphasized that the screening of people arriving in Poland with antigen tests is “senseless” from a medical point of view.
«Some tests do not detect a variant of the coronavirus called Omikron. Especially antigenic. They use a reaction with monoclonal antibodies »- emphasized the experienced virologist.
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He explained that some tests detect all variants of SARS-CoV-2 – known so far. From these tests it is not possible to suspect which variant this is, but it is possible to determine during sequencing.
«Some tests, on the other hand, only work with some variants, but not all. It was like that with the British variant, which one of the tests did not detect at all, and this greatly facilitates the spread of infections. So if only the test that cannot detect the Omikron variant is performed, then the person is identified as healthy, uninfected. And whether it is so or not, nobody knows »- said prof. Gut.
Passing such people through an imperfect test system greatly accelerates the spread of infections, he added. Prof. When asked what should be done, Gut replied: check which of the tests “miss” the new variant.
He explained that some countries have already introduced the principle of confirming an antigen test (rapid) by PCR.
According to prof. Guta’s antigenic testing of people arriving in Poland is “pointless” from a virological point of view, if they do not have symptoms of the disease.
«No test will show anything in the first three days after infection. The action of screening people who are asymptomatic is therefore completely meaningless from a rational point of view. Even on the third day, the best methods have a 20 percent chance of catching an infected person. For all this to make sense, there should be 5-7 days of quarantine, which will end with a test »- he added. (PAP)
Author: Tomasz Więcławski
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