Where and how to get a coronavirus test

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You can take the analysis yourself. But you don't need to. And that's why.

Who is being tested for coronavirus now?

It all depends on the country. The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation recommends testing only those who have signs of SARS and who have returned from abroad 14 days or less before the onset of symptoms or have recently had close contact with people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Regions can clarify recommendations. But the decision on the need for testing in each specific case is still made by the doctor.

The Moscow Department of Healthcare is expanding the list and determining the priority. People from those risk groups who are at the top of the list are given a coronavirus test first. The rest - after all the patients from the priority groups have been examined.

1. People with signs of SARS who in the last 14 days have crossed the border of one of the countries with an unfavorable epidemiological situation (China, South Korea, Iran, USA, Great Britain, most European countries, Ukraine, Belarus) or have come into contact with a person who has contracted COVID-19 or arrived from the listed states.
2. Those who have signs of SARS and are diagnosed with pneumonia.
3. People over 60 who have flu or cold symptoms.
4. People with signs of ARVI who have chronic diseases - cardiovascular, oncological, endocrine.
5. Citizens who have arrived in the last 14 days from countries with an unfavorable epidemiological situation.
6. Those with SARS symptoms.

Why aren't tests done to everyone?

Because world medicine has not yet decided how to do it right. Despite the fact that WHO calls for mass testing, each country takes a different approach. And he hopes that he will be the most effective.

Tedros Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), at a briefing in Geneva on March 16, 2020

Our call to all states is simple: test, test and test!

China and South Korea have chosen the path of a large-scale examination of citizens: tests for coronavirus are done to everyone with the slightest symptoms and even suspicions of symptoms. Germany followed with up to 500,000 tests a week.

In Italy, according to the recommendations of the local Ministry of Health dated February 25, those who have pronounced symptoms of coronavirus are being examined. In the UK, for a long time, tests were carried out only for seriously ill patients.

The French authorities, according to the news radio station RFI, still believe that mass testing will not change the situation with the spread of the epidemic. It is much more important to pinpoint specific cases, testing people at risk, and isolate those who get sick.

The Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Mikhail Murashko adheres to the same point of view. “There is no point in running today and everyone being tested for coronavirus,” TASS quoted him as saying on March 1. On March 27, the minister again confirmed that only those people who are at risk should need to do the test.

In general, this is reasonable given how complex the testing process is.

Do all countries do the same tests?

No. Both methods and test makers are different. In Russia alone, test systems from six organizations are registered, three of which are state-owned - SSC Vector, the Center for Strategic Planning and Risk Management of the Ministry of Health and the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology. But some generalization can still be made.

Now there are two types of tests for coronavirus - PCR and express. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

When organizing mass testing, the express option is usually used. If such a test is positive, it must be rechecked by PCR.

What is PCR?

PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction. This testing method is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of any infection and is used in government laboratories.

In general terms, it is carried out as follows. A smear is taken for research. It detects DNA fragments similar to fragments of a virus or bacteria. These DNA fragments are then propagated in a test tube. After some time (from several hours to several days), the test tube is checked. If traces of the pathogen can be detected, the analysis is considered positive. If not, negative.

PCR diagnostics of coronavirus is generally carried out in the same way, a swab is taken from the nose and oropharynx. But there is a nuance. The SARS ‑ nCoV ‑ 2 coronavirus is based on RNA, not DNA.

DNA molecules are made up of two strands of polynucleotides (nucleic acids in which genetic information is encoded), spirally twisted around each other. RNA - from one. The difference is palpable, so the analysis process becomes more difficult.

To begin with, researchers have to translate pieces of RNA from the alleged virus into DNA. Then replicate the DNA. Then again translate DNA into RNA to identify the coronavirus. In the language of microbiology, this process is called reverse transcription PCR.

PCR analysis allows you to detect coronavirus even before the first symptoms appear.

But the study takes at least a few hours (and then a few more hours to process the result) and requires rather large material and financial costs: special laboratory equipment, highly qualified technical specialists. That is why making a PCR test for everyone is a rather expensive and difficult task.

But there are also express tests. Why not do them all in a row?

The fastest research options are based on blood tests. A rapid test detects IgM immunoglobulins in it - antibodies that the human body begins to produce when it detects that it has encountered a new infection. Such research gives the result within 15-20 minutes.

The only problem is that a sufficient amount of antibodies for the test appears in the blood only on the 4th-10th day of the disease (including the incubation period). If a person has recently become infected, such a test may show an erroneous negative result.

Or, on the contrary, a quick test can be positive in a person who has had a mild illness, perhaps without even noticing it. This is because the level of antibodies in the blood does not decrease instantly and for some time remains high even in a person who has recovered. So uncertainty arises: is the patient still sick and may need help, or has he already recovered and is not dangerous to others?

This is why rapid antibody tests are rechecked by PCR.

A PCR analysis is not wrong at all?

The polymerase chain reaction method is generally considered more reliable than rapid diagnostic options. But he is also not always reliable.

Alexey Vodovozov toxicologist, interview to YouTube channel Myatom

PCR with reverse transcription is a lengthy, complex and rather inaccurate procedure: it has a high percentage of errors in one direction or the other.

To improve accuracy, the PCR test is performed several times. The Moscow Department of Health, for example, insists on two tests if the patient has no symptoms of SARS, and three if there are signs of a cold.

All this makes the process of making a diagnosis even longer.

However, science does not stand still. For example, Rospotrebnadzor claims that the new tests it has developed do not give false positive results.

I know that paid tests can be taken in Russia. Is it worth it?

Indeed, from March 26, PCR analysis for coronavirus can be done in private laboratories. Helix conducts research in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg."Gemotest" - in Moscow, Moscow region (Dzerzhinsky, Podolsk, Mytishchi, Krasnogorsk, Balashikha and Odintsovo), and since March 31 in Simferopol. In the near future, Invitro plans to join them.

In addition, some private clinics have begun taking samples for testing.

Also, Rospotrebnadzor plans to provide a commercial testing service at home, without a doctor's referral.

However, the need for the procedure is still in question. For several reasons.

1. It is paid

You will have to pay about 2,000 rubles for a commercial test. The exact price depends on the specific laboratory.

The cost of the analysis of Rospotrebnadzor, according to RIA Novosti, will be 1250 rubles. In addition, you will have to pay for the departure of the medical staff at home.

2. It's long

Tests are done by appointment only. Since there are not many laboratories, it is not a fact that you will be able to make an appointment for an analysis, let alone in the coming days, even in the coming weeks.

By that time, even if you do have a coronavirus infection, you will have time to get sick and recover.

3. It is unsafe

To get tested, you have to go to the laboratory. This means that you run the risk of catching the coronavirus on the way or in line at the institution itself. If you are infected, you can infect other people.

Plus, for residents of Moscow and the Moscow region, this is a violation of the self-isolation regime. After all, taking tests is not like seeking emergency help.

4. It can be completely pointless

If you have ARVI symptoms that suggest COVID-19, you are eligible for a free test by contacting your GP. If you still want to get tested for money, please note: in laboratories you will simply not be accepted with ARVI symptoms. We'll have to look for private clinics.

Consider another situation: you have no symptoms and you just want to be checked for every fireman. Good. Imagine you got a positive test. What happens next? So far, only one private Moscow clinic hospitalizes patients with COVID-19. There is no data yet on how much the treatment will cost.

And to get to a public hospital, you need a doctor's referral. He will first of all evaluate your symptoms - those that do not exist. And if he finds good reason for that, he will offer to double-check the results of the analysis done in the state laboratory. That is, it will not work to get to the hospital solely based on the results of a commercial test.

In general, if you suspect you have a coronavirus, the most logical thing you can do is isolate yourself and watch for symptoms. And only when they appear, contact the local therapist and act in accordance with his instructions.

And if I want to know if I had a coronavirus, will the test show it?

No. Existing tests determine if there is an active virus in your body right now.

However, theoretically anything is possible. To find out if you have encountered a coronavirus before, you need a blood test for IgG immunoglobulins - antibodies that the body produces, acquiring a stable immunity to infection. But modern science still does not know enough about IgG immunoglobulins and immunity to SARS ‑ nCoV ‑ 2. Therefore, such tests are not done.

Coronavirus. Number of infected:

243 050 862

in the world

8 131 164

in Russia View map