Fast track virus test kits are '95% effective'
Lateral flow tests (LFT) have been shown to be 95% effective at detecting Covid-19 – if used at the onset of infection or soon after symptoms start, according to a new study.
The tests are cheaper than PCR assessments sent to laboratories and return results in 30 minutes rather than taking up to three days.
Earlier studies suggested LFTs may be less sensitive than PCR in detecting Covid-19 but, in a new study, they detected more than 95% of the cases found by PCR and correctly identified 89% of cases as negative.
More than 2,500 people with mild to moderate flu-like symptoms were assessed by general practitioners in Austria for the study by the Queen Mary University of London, Oxford University, the Institute for Advanced Studies based in Vienna, and the Medical University of Graz.
The study is the first to compare the two modes of testing on the same group of people on a large scale.
Study author Dr Werner Leber, from Queen Mary University of London, said: "Previous studies have suggested lateral flow tests may be less sensitive than PCR in detecting Covid-19, particularly among asymptomatic individuals and during the early or late stage of an infection when the viral load is lowest.
"But we have found that in patients who are newly symptomatic, the two testing methods have similar levels of accuracy.”
Dr J as min aPanovska Griffith s from Oxford University added :“This highlights the necessity of testing at early infection with lateral flow tests, and shows that in patients who are newly symptomatic, the two testing methods have similar levels of accuracy.