A Chinese Covid-19 test kit outperformed equivalent products made in South Korea, Germany, Spain and Britain, according to a study by scientists in the Netherlands.
In laboratory tests, the commercially available reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kit made by Shenzen-based biotech company BGI Group achieved the lowest limit of detection (LOD) score, suggesting it was more sensitive to the presence of the coronavirus than comparable products.
In the test, the Chinese kit returned an LOD of
4.3 copies (of the gene) per millilitre, followed by the South Korean product with
4.8. The German and Spanish kits both scored
18, while the British kit fared worst of all with
23.
When asked about the significance of the results, Meijer told the South China Morning Post that all of the products were of a suitable quality for mass testing for Covid-19, but the ones with a greater degree of sensitivity would be preferable in certain situations.
"When you expect low viral loads because of the nature of the patients being tested " such as health care workers with mild or no symptoms, or patients during later stages of the infection " it is best to choose a test that has the highest sensitivity," he said.
However, while products' sensitivity could be measured in a laboratory, the actual performance of a test kit was affected by many other factors, such as the quality of swab samples, Meijer said.
For instance, while some Chinese nasal and oral swab tests had returned accuracy levels as low as 30 per cent in earlier studies,
that was likely a result of the samples not being taken properly
. In more typical tests, with larger numbers of patients, the accuracy rate rose to 96 per cent, he said.
"When you expect low viral loads because of the nature of the patients being tested " such as health care workers with mild or no symptoms, or patients during later stages of the infection " it is best to choose a test that has the highest sensitivity," he said.
Meijer said his study did not include any test kits made in the United States as they either did not meet European quality standards or were not available at the time.
https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/othe...trips-alternatives-in-dutch-study/ar-BB14mkJD
