pathogens compared to the normal 50 to
100 pathogens. This helps us diagnose
patients at the early stage of disease
and treat them quickly,” he said.
However, this confuses the
Malaysians when a statement issued by
MOH contradicts the current statement
of You Jae-Hyung.
According to the MOH, rapid
test kits that are being marketed for
COVID-19 detection actually cannot
help in the early detection of the
coronavirus.
This is because this rapid test kit is
used to detect the antibody produced
in the body as a result of the infection.
The antibodies will appear in the body
about 5 to 8 days after infection.
As a result, this test is unable to
detect the virus and provides a quick
confirmation of the infection. Therefore,
this test is not recommended for the
purpose of COVID-19 diagnosis.
It also can be proven by the
statement given by Director General of
International Vaccine Institute, Jerome
Kim, saying that the early stages of
infection patients could have a small
amount of pathogens and test case
may not be sensitive enough to detect
a virus.
“That’s why a patient is tested
multiple times. It takes the virus a little
while to grow, we are often at what we
call the limit of detection and that will
mean that sometimes there are false
positives or false negatives if the level
of virus is too low,” he said.
According to Kerala Health
Minister, KK Shailaja, if someone is
tested and found to be positive, she or
he then needs to confirm it through PCR
test. This is because the result from the
rapid test kit may not be accurate.
Besides, the Dubai Health
Authority (DHA) has banned the use
of rapid viral tests for COVID-19,
following reports of major inaccuracies
in test results.
Confirming the media ban, Dr
Ahmed Abdelhameed, a specialist in
internal medicine at Medcare Women
and Children’s Hospital said, “It’s not a
direct detection of the virus, but a ‘kind
of detection’ of the virus after you catch
the infection, the body then
starts to produce antibodies to combat
the virus. This test therefore cannot aid
in early diagnosis of the disease.
“For the body to form antibodies
against the virus it takes days or
sometimes even weeks. So, this will
delay in knowing if the patient is
COVID-19 positive or negative.
Sometimes, antibodies are formed
because of previous infection of other
strains of coronavirus that are not
necessarily COVID-19. And this may
give you a positive result for the virus…
To avoid this confusion, the DHA has
banned the use of the test as it can give
you a false negative or positive result
for COVID-19.”
If someone is tested and found to
be positive, he or she then needs
to confirm it through PCR test.
This is because the result from the
rapid test kit may not be accurate.
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