nasal swab

At present, the global detection of coronavirus relies on three main methods, one based on nucleic acid testing at the molecular level and the other based on immunological principles, mainly antigen testing and antibody testing.

Nucleic acid testing is the main testing method currently used in China and is one of the diagnostic criteria for patients with new coronavirus disease. However, the disadvantages of nucleic acid testing are high conditions and long testing time.

Immunological testing has a later window period, but testing students by antigen is easy to carry out and the testing time is relatively short,Rapid antigen nasal swab which can be directly used to realize large-scale positive population screening, treatment and rehabilitation effect assessment.

Antigen self-testing products are products that allow residents to collect a nasal or nasopharyngeal swab sample and use it at home according to the instructions in the product brochure. The waiting time is usually about 15-20 minutes. The use of this product does not require a trip to the hospital and can eliminate the need to wait in line, register, and wait for test results. Therefore, antigen self-testing products are considered to have the advantages of convenience and speed.

Antigen detection has been widely used in many countries around the world. Compared with nucleic acid testing methods, it gives faster and cheaper results.

There has been no large-scale testing for coronavirus diseases in other parts of the country except Hong Kong.

In the past practice of epidemic prevention in China and Hong Kong, we have seen that antigen testing has played a great role. In the course of this anti-epidemic campaign, the HKSAR Government is procuring a large number of rapid antigenic test kits for testing by different groups of people, so that patients can be identified as soon as possible and the chain of transmission of the virus can be cut off. Hong Kong people can purchase rapid antigen test kits from retailers in the market for voluntary testing. At the same time, rapid antigen test kits are provided free of charge to designated high-risk and specific groups of people as well as those who are living safely and fighting against the epidemic.

It can be envisioned that When antigenic testing pandemic becomes mainstreamed in the community, it will usher in a comprehensive reassessment of the development of a fundamental knowledge base!

In the absence of urban blockades or universal mandatory nucleic acid testing in Hong Kong, widely available RAT kits may play an important role in the detection of asymptomatic individuals, which, together with nucleic acid testing, will reduce mortality and real-time reproduction (RT).

The specificity of commercially available quality antigen detection reagents is close to 100% and the sensitivity of nucleic acid PCR for detecting infected individuals with a ct value of 25 or less is also close to 100%. Antigen testing is fast and the results are more correlated with infectiousness, facilitating early isolation, especially for infected individuals who may cause hyper-transmission.

The results of antigen testing once a day for a consecutive week are superior to those of nucleic acid testing only once or twice a week. And antigen testing is all self-testing in Hong Kong, effectively reducing the healthcare burden and avoiding crowds. According to the survey, the rat test can be done at home in 20 minutes.

In conclusion, large-scale rapid antigenic testing can not only complement nucleic acid testing to rapidly identify and isolate infected cases and cut off their potential transmission chain, but also effectively reduce social and economic costs. Rapid antigen testing has become an increasingly cost-effective and impactful solution.