The test race is well underway. While the release of confinement is not announced, would the sesame to be able to move again tomorrow come from the results of these screening tests? The stakes are high.
Currently, screening tests, using a swab of mucus in the nose, only concern people with symptoms that match those of Covid-19. They are quite long and expensive. This is why many researchers are working on tests that could be more easily generalized to the population. Among them, there is a lot of talk about blood tests. Made from a simple drop of blood, they can be used to confirm whether or not a person is immune to the coronavirus. Less sensitive than the first to detect the infection in progress, these tests will on the other hand be interesting for the release of confinement because they are good indicators of our immunity.
In parallel, we find the saliva test solution, which we know is one of the main vectors of the virus, which would be simple to generalize. The CNRS announces the launch of a trial to assess the reliability of its saliva diagnostic test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Called EasyCov, this patented test is easy to use and does not require the use of heavy equipment. It remains to validate the reliability of its results, a crucial point when you know that the tests currently available still give too many false negative results.
The CHU Montpellier teams working on this project recruited 180 people. Their double-blind clinical study begins on April 11. They will test the EasyCov with patients who have already tested positive for Covid-19 as well as with caregivers who are assumed to be negative. The results, expected by the end of April, will allow the teams to improve the sensitivity and optimize the specificity of this new saliva test.
The advantage of this test? It can be done without a laboratory. The saliva collected is simply placed with the reagents at 65 ° C for 30 minutes. The result is easily visible to the naked eye by the caregiver. This is a major difference from current tests, which require several hours of laboratory treatment.
If the results of this trial are conclusive, ""the rapid establishment of an efficient and reliable production chain will be essential to the massive availability of the EasyCov test in France ", specifies the CNRS in a press release. "This channel could be ready for deployment to healthcare staff in May ". Case to follow!
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