Faster detection of COVID-19

Barbados might soon be able to detect cases of COVID-19 much faster, thanks to new antigen tests.

The antigen diagnostic tests have been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and pilot studies are already underway in Ecuador, Mexico, Suriname and El Salvador.

Unlike previous rapid antibody tests, which can show when someone has had COVID-19 but often give a negative result during the early stages of infection, the new rapid antigen tests are much more accurate in determining if someone is currently infected.

According to Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Dr Carissa Etienne, the affordable and reliable tests can be performed anywhere and are set to transform the region’s COVID-19 response by allowing health workers to carry out accurate, rapid testing, even in remote communities.

“By providing results quickly, the new test empowers frontline health workers to better manage cases by isolating patients to prevent further spread and to begin treatment immediately. If distributed widely, this new test will transform our COVID response,” Etienne said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

“Today, PAHO can provide access to hundreds of thousands of these tests via PAHO’s Strategic Supply Fund, with millions more expected in the coming weeks.”

The Strategic Supply Fund is a regional technical cooperation mechanism for pooled procurement of essential medicines and supplies and is a central component of PAHO’s strategy to move towards universal health.

Etienne said during the pilot studies the tests would be provided “free of cost”.

The PAHO director said while PCR diagnostic tests remained the gold standard for testing, delays in getting results meant that people ran the risk of infecting others while awaiting results.

“The new tests will enable primary healthcare workers, whether they’re working in the middle of the Amazon or in an urban centre, to diagnose and care for patients immediately, stopping further infections in their tracks, and that is the game changer,” she said.

Etienne said PAHO had also started helping countries implement new testing protocols so that health workers know how to use the new diagnostics and report their results.

“With support from WHO, we will be providing these diagnostic tests free of cost as we keep a close eye on how they’re used. The data collected via this study will help countries within and outside of our region make the most of these new diagnostics,” she said.

Etienne pointed out that with more than 18 million COVID-19 cases and more than 590 000 deaths reported “the state of the pandemic in the Americas remains complex”.

She said Canada, Argentina and the Caribbean continued to see a high number of cases.

“Since the pandemic began more than nine months ago, we have known that to beat this virus, we must transform our public health response. We need public health measures to prevent community transmission; fast, accurate and affordable diagnostic tests to determine when someone has been infected with COVID 19; new medicines to help COVID patients get better; and, ultimately, a safe and effective vaccine,” the PAHO boss said.  (randybennett@barbadostoday.bb)