365NEWSX
365NEWSX
Subscribe

Welcome

New Research Shows Frequent, Rapid Testing Could Cripple COVID-19 Within Weeks - SciTechDaily

New Research Shows Frequent, Rapid Testing Could Cripple COVID-19 Within Weeks - SciTechDaily

New Research Shows Frequent, Rapid Testing Could Cripple COVID-19 Within Weeks - SciTechDaily
Nov 22, 2020 2 mins, 7 secs

A researcher holds up a rapid RT-Lamp test in a lab at the BioFrontiers Institute.

Study shows test turnaround-time, frequency far more important than sensitivity in curbing spread.

“Our big picture finding is that, when it comes to public health, it’s better to have a less sensitive test with results today than a more sensitive one with results tomorrow,” said lead author Daniel Larremore, an assistant professor of computer science at CU Boulder.

Chan School of Public Health to explore whether test sensitivity, frequency, or turnaround time is most important to curb the spread of COVID-19.

When it came to curbing spread, they found that frequency and turnaround time are much more important than test sensitivity.

For instance, in one scenario in a large city, widespread twice-weekly testing with a rapid but less sensitive test reduced the degree of infectiousness, or R0 (“R naught”), of the virus by 80%.

But twice-weekly testing with a more sensitive PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, which takes up to 48 hours to return results, reduced infectiousness by only 58%.

In other scenarios, when the amount of testing was the same, the rapid test always reduced infectiousness better than the slower, more sensitive PCR test.

“This paper is one of the first to show we should worry less about test sensitivity and, when it comes to public health, prioritize frequency and turnaround,” said senior co-author Roy Parker, director of the BioFrontiers Institute and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

In one scenario, in which 4% of individuals in a city were already infected, rapid testing three out of four people every three days reduced the number ultimately infected by 88% and was “sufficient to drive the epidemic toward extinction within six weeks.”.

The study comes as companies and academic research centers are developing low-cost, rapid turnaround tests that could be deployed in large public settings or commercialized for do-it-yourself use.

“These rapid tests are contagiousness tests,” said senior co-author Dr.

Rapid testing could also be the key to breathing life back into former superspreader threats like football stadiums, concert venues and airports, with patrons testing themselves on the way in and still wearing masks as a precautionary measure, Larremore said.

“It’s time to shift the mentality around testing from thinking of a COVID test as something you get when you think you are sick to thinking of it as a vital tool to break transmission chains and keep the economy open,” Larremore said.

November 20, 2020

November 20, 2020

November 20, 2020

November 20, 2020

November 20, 2020

Summarized by 365NEWSX ROBOTS

RECENT NEWS

SUBSCRIBE

Get monthly updates and free resources.

CONNECT WITH US

© Copyright 2024 365NEWSX - All RIGHTS RESERVED