Rapid tests questioned

摘要

THE UK government has announced that two 90-minute tests will, between them, provide more than 6 million coronavirus assessments to individuals at care homes and National Health Service hospitals across the UK. But while the companies behind both tests say they have validated their accuracy, the details haven't been published. "I'd never heard of these two tests," says Jon Deeks at the University of Birmingham, UK, who has been comparing the evidence behind a range of rapid tests to diagnose covid-19. One of the tests was developed by DnaNudge, a company that offers diet-based shopping advice for customers who share their DNA. The coronavirus test is based on a nasal swab, which is inserted into a disposable palm-sized cartridge. Up to 12 cartridges are then put into a machine the size of a shoebox, where a chemical reaction converts the virus's RNA to DNA and copies it. Chemicals seek out sequences from the coronavirus to signal its presence.