saliva tests, coming soon, what to expect?

This technique could give rise to an easier sample than that in the nose and above all less inconvenient.

Saliva tests will be "set up most likely quite late September or early October"Jean-François Delfraissy, Chairman of the Scientific Council, said Tuesday before the Senate Committee of Inquiry into the management of Covid-19, LCI reports.

The doctor announces that this method of detecting the coronavirus will allow to have "a simpler strategy" of tests. This news follows data from the assessment made in the Paris region and Guyana. The latter show, from a saliva sample, "very good specificity and sensitivity of around 80%, which is sufficient", affirms Jean-François Delfraissy.

Also, these saliva tests would be less restrictive than the sample taken from the nose via a long rod.

"Virological tests on saliva samples are mentioned as a possible alternative to virological tests on nasopharyngeal samples because the non-invasive and painless collection act is likely to be better accepted by patients, especially if they are required to be tested. repeatedly. ", can we read in a press release from the High Authority for Health (HAS) on August 10.

"However, many uncertainties persist as to their reliability. After having analyzed all the scientific literature available on these tests, the HAS considers that important elements of reliability are still lacking for immediate generalized use as an alternative to nasopharyngeal tests.", she adds.

The organization will pronounce "dyears the next few days"to specify whether saliva can detect contamination as effectively as cells in the nose, information relayed by L'Express. The HAS has still not ruled on the specifications to be completed for the approval of this test .

For more speed?

Currently, PCR tests (nasopharyngeal swabs) were the main way to screen for the virus. But as mentioned in a previous article, laboratories are overloaded. In some cities such as Paris, finding an appointment to get tested is a real quest. "I have been in contact with a sick person and it is terrible, we do not understand anything, no site gives the same information, we were told that the social security text can take a very long time to arrive, and the tests walk-ins require waiting for hours; I don't know how people who cannot telework, for example!", Mathilde, a Parisian thirty-something, told us not long ago.

The widespread use of saliva tests would allow for faster results.

At the end of August, according to the Directorate General of Health (DGS) questioned by AFP and relayed by Point, "We must first make sure that saliva is a reliable liquid to measure the presence of the virus", because Sars-Cov-2 may be present in less quantity than in the nose and throat.

If the so-called 'field' saliva tests turn out to be "sensitive", they could "be used as rapid tests in places of passage for example, like airports, etc." A positive result would then generate a "suspicion of being ill" and give rise to "a more reliable confirmatory test".

The result would be obtained in 15 to 30 minutes.

LCI recalls that the test called "EasyCov", developed by the CNRS and the Montpellier University Hospital, "detects 73% of infected people against 95% for nasopharyngeal tests."

How does this saliva test work?

This is a saliva sample. The created sample is then placed in a tube with reagents heated to 65 ° C. "Just take some saliva, one of the main vectors of the virus, and place it with the reagents at 65 ° C for 30 minutes. The nursing staff can then read the result with the naked eye. Unlike the reference test method which requires several hours of processing in the laboratory and requires significant equipment and reagents.", explains the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) on its website.

During his hearing in front of the Senate, Jean-François Delfraissy recalled that a vaccine could be available in the first quarter of 2021.

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Video by Loïcia Fouillen