Over the past year we have been living the pandemic lifestyle, filled with public restrictions, news clippings, Facebook posts and conversations with our friends and families about COVID-19 cases, testing and vaccines. Many, if not most, people are well-aware of the various testing methods that exist across the world. The terms ‘antigen testing’, ‘PPE’ and ‘nasopharyngeal swabs’ have become commonplace as everyone seems to be talking about the most efficient and best methodologies for testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Ever wondered – How convenient a saliva based COVID-19 lab based test would be?
Saliva-based testing is simple. It is exactly as it sounds, collecting saliva samples that are going to be used to test for COVID-19. Instead of having a trained healthcare practitioner insert a nasopharyngeal swab into the depths of your nose, all you need is to spit in a small tube and send your sample off to the lab for analysis.
The data is sound. According to the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed research journals, saliva-based testing has showed to be accurate in detecting positive COVID-19 infections 85% of the time – the same rate as nasopharyngeal swabs. In addition, saliva-based testing is able to accurately identify negative cases 99% of the time, all without having to be swabbed in the nasopharynx.1
Is the saliva-based COVID-19 test a lab based test?
Some people have expressed concern with using saliva-based testing as they feel they are not receiving the best possible treatment. The data, on one hand, shows no reduction in quality control, plus the technology behind the sample analysis remains the same: the gold standard RT-PCR technique. Use of a nasopharyngeal swab or saliva test does not change the laboratory-based analysis of the sample, which means that with a far less invasive procedure, people can rest assured that their test is using the best possible technology available.
Looking to book for a COVID-19 RT-PCR laboratory based test? Click here
Benefits of saliva based test outweighs others
Non-invasive method: From a user perspective, both the patient and any healthcare staff involved are far more comfortable with the non-invasive procedure.
Ease of Use: It allows for sample collection to take place at home, in private, or in public. This increased ease of use, combined with its good diagnostic performance, makes saliva-based testing a gamechanger in the realm of COVID-19 testing.
Rapid and cheaper: Using this technique, a large number of people are able to be screened, using gold-standard lab-based technology, as a much more rapid and cheaper alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs.
We are getting there…
Intrinsic Analytics is a frontrunner in saliva-based testing research in Manitoba, receiving grant funding to pursue the development and implementation of a saliva-based testing program here in Winnipeg. Partnered with St. Boniface Research Centre, Intrinsic Analytics is rapidly pursuing this saliva-testing program for its numerous benefits for the Manitoban population.
Sources :
1 Butler-Laporte G, Lawandi A, Schiller I, et al. Comparison of Saliva and Nasopharyngeal Swab Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing for Detection of SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
