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researchers find good results in faster, cheaper rapid-testing kit

“this research offers a cheaper, faster alternative to the most reliable and sensitive test currently used worldwide without sacrificing sensitivity and reproducibility." — peter unrau, sfu molecular biology and biochemistry professor

by: gordon hoekstra
simon fraser university researchers announced friday they have validated a faster, cheaper covid-19 test that could help kickstart the expansion of wider rapid testing.
“this research offers a cheaper, faster alternative to the most reliable and sensitive test currently used worldwide without sacrificing sensitivity and reproducibility,” said peter unrau, a sfu molecular biology and biochemistry professor who led the team evaluating the covid-19 testing kit.
the results of the sfu study of the testing kit produced by mission-based lumex instruments
in the journal of molecular diagnostics.
currently, there are two basic types of covid-19 tests.
the pcr (polymerase chain reaction) test uses a swab to collect cells from deep within the nasal cavity and tests for genetic material from the virus.
it is considered the most accurate and reliable test for covid-19, but requires trained personnel, a lab and takes more time and resources than rapid testing. in british columbia, health officials try to have results in 24 hours but it can take longer.
rapid testing, which also uses swab samples, screens for viral antigens which trigger an immune response in the body. they are quicker, can be portable and much cheaper but are less accurate than pcr tests.

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the covid-19 test kit analyzed by sfu researchers is a pcr-style test that uses a microchip that miniaturizes the amount of chemicals, called reagents, needed to test for the genetic material of the virus.
the sfu researchers say the new kit can provide accurate results in 30 minutes and requires 10 times less reagents than the tube-based pcr tests approved by the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention.
“the cost of reagents went through the roof through this pandemic. … a test became dramatically more expensive or the reagents not easily available,” noted unrau. “this test is doing things in 10 times less volume. so it’s 10 times less expensive, roughly speaking.”
unrau, along with phd candidate razvan cojocaru and master’s student iqra yaseen, first evaluated test sensitivity in the lab.
the test kit was then sent to a clinical team at st. paul’s hospital in vancouver to be tested on 21 human samples, all that were available at the time in the first coronavirus wave in the spring of 2020. the new test kit replicated existing hospital testing results, demonstrating its effectiveness, said sfu researchers.
unrau noted that if lumex wishes to get canadian approval for the use of the test kits, it will have to undertake more testing.

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some jurisdictions have embraced existing covid-19 rapid testing more than others, with those resistant to wider use citing its lower accuracy.
british columbia health officials have used rapid testing in a limited fashion, using it to test staff and residents in long-term care homes in some situations and also, for example, in an outbreak in a school setting.
private long-term care home providers in b.c. had advocated for much wider use of rapid testing last fall when the province was experiencing a surge in cases.

during a surge in cases in nova scotia in the past month, the province’s community rapid testing centres found at least 285 covid-19 cases in people without symptoms, about 10 per cent of all confirmed cases in this time period, according to the nova scotia health authority.

while most provinces reserve testing only for symptomatic people or close contacts of a case, nova scotia’s pop-up centres allow asymptomatic people to simply show up and get a rapid test for free, with results sent to them within an hour. the whole process relies largely on volunteers without a health care background.
slovakia has also used rapid-testing to keep the virus under control.
last fall, the country rapid-tested most of its population over two weekends and found 50,000 positive cases.

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with files from postmedia.

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