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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsQuestions About Accuracy of Coronavirus Tests Sow Worry
Last week, a 16-month-old boy in Florida tested positive for the new coronavirus, a lab report shows. A few days later, he tested negative at a second lab.
The chief medical officer at the practice where the tests were ordered is betting that the positive result is the right one.
A false negative is problematic because it tells the patient they dont have the virus, said the doctor, Craig Deligdish, an oncologist at Omni Healthcare, a Melbourne, Fla., medical group. Meanwhile, that patient can unwittingly spread it, he said.
Health experts say they now believe nearly one in three patients who are infected are nevertheless getting a negative test result. They caution that only limited data is available, and their estimates are based on their own experience in the absence of hard science.
That picture is troubling, many doctors say, as it casts doubt on the reliability of a wave of new tests developed by manufacturers, lab companies and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of these are operating with minimal regulatory oversight and little time to do robust studies amid a desperate call for wider testing.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/questions-about-accuracy-of-coronavirus-tests-sow-worry/ar-BB124KXh?li=BBnb7Kz
wishstar
(5,270 posts)they tested some "recovered" patients and found although they were negative with standard nasal swab test, they could still be carriers as virus continued to shed through their phlegm and stool even though they were considered to have fully recovered from symptoms.
Igel
(35,320 posts)Those seeking absolutes because they can't handle uncertainty are having a difficult time.
Many are just in denial. A negative means 'absolutely doesn't have it' and a positive means 'absolutely does have it'.
At a 30 or 40% false negative rate, testing large numbers of people miss a lot of those who could spread the disease. Even if you tested all those who were asymptomatic, 30% of them walk.
Reduces the incidence, but it's far from stopping the virus.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)gratuitous
(82,849 posts)They were talking about a newly-developed test that gave results sooner than other tests. Almost in passing, the report mentioned that the new test would come back positive for infection only if the person tested had been infected for several days. My takeaway was that the test would give a false sense of security for someone who was asymptomatic, but hadn't been infected for a long enough period of time for the test to detect the infection. I haven't seen any reporting on this since, though.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)We should be testing everybody at least weekly.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)How does WHO accuracy compare to tests cobbled up by Trump's cronies, for example?