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A infografia mostra como funciona o novo teste caseiro para o coronavírus.
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Primeiro teste caseiro para o coronavírus

By Duncan Mil

November 18, 2020 - A agência de medicamentos dos EUA deu luz verde de emergência
ao primeiro teste rápido do coronavírus que pode ser realizado
em casa. O teste da Lucira Health dá o resultado em 30 minutos.

The FDA has cleared other tests for at-home collection of samples. Laboratories then process these samples. Lucira’s kit is the first to remove the need for complex lab tests that look for the coronavirus’s genetic material using a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Lucira’s at-home test relies on similar principles by using a method called a loop-mediated amplification reaction, or LAMP. Like PCR, LAMP repeatedly copies genetic material until it reaches detectable levels, making it possible to identify the virus even when it is present at only low levels in the respiratory tract.

Users taking the test swirl a swab in both of their nostrils, then dip and stir the swab into a vial of chemical reagents. That vial is inserted into a test cartridge to processes the sample.

Within half an hour, the test cartridge will light up as “positive” or “negative.” While faster and less cumbersome than PCR, LAMP is less accurate.

Federal guidelines note that people taking the test should report the results to their health care providers, who must then inform public health authorities to help track the virus’s spread.

According to Lucira, the LAMP test can accurately detect 94 per cent of the infections found by the gold-standard PCR based test. It also correctly identified 98 per cent of the healthy, uninfected people.

California-based Lucira Health expects the test to cost $50 or less.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 22/11/2020; STORY: Graphic News
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