IMPORTANT INFO ABOUT TESTING. False Negatives and proper technique.
I saw a scene on CNN this morning of a drive-by testing facility. It was not clear where it was but concerned me was that the person doing the swab was swabbing the mouth rather than the nose. I reached out to an Infectious Disease specialist I trust about the accuracy of testing with respect to how it is done and IT IS IMPORTANT.
The most accurate way to get a reliable test is actually to get sputum (lung secretions) which a patient coughs up freshly into a sterile container. Obviously, if you are coughing to this degree, you are pretty sick, covid or not.
For screening purposes, a nasopharyngeal swab (the back of the nose) is the most accurate since the virus lives in the nose and back of the nose (nasopharynx). This is how the flu screen is properly done. The virus replicates in the nose and is then inhaled into the lungs where is causes lung tissue inflammation.
An oropharyngeal (back of the mouth where the palate and tonsils are) swab is great for strep/tonsillitis since the bacteria lives in the tonsils but it is not ideal for covid-19 and has a greater chance of false negative results.
A false-positive result (a test which says you have it when you really don’t) is much less likely than a false-negative (test says you don’t when you really do).
If you have a false positive result, you will be self quarantining more so you’re better off anyway! however, it can also lead to increased stress which sucks.
A false negative is obviously worse since you will have a false sense of security and also put all those around you at greater risk.
SO, if you are going to have the test at one of these screening locations, insist it is done properly. Having a cotton swab stuck in your nose all the way back is not fun and a little harder than the mouth, but it is much more accurate.
It’s a very momentary discomfort and worth it for more accuracy. Relax. It could be worse. Imagine if this was all a urinary tract infection pandemic in which case drive-by testing could be a whole lot more embarrassing and uncomfortable!! 😉
Be safe and stay well.
ac