COVID-19 is a threat unlike any other seen in recent years. Despite the medical advancements of humanity, the attempts to contain and end this pandemic have gone in vain as the rising number of cases and not enough beds to keep the sick is now widespread. Some of the most powerful countries in the world are unable to handle the situation and their healthcare systems are barely holding on.
Amidst all this chaos, websites like everymedi.com are spreading awareness regarding the pandemic and are informing people about the protective essentials to help you protect yourself from getting infected by the virus. They also have a live corona dashboard that will tell you the number of active, deceased and recovered patients currently all in every country. You can also buy things like COVID-19 testing kits from their website at affordable costs.
Now, there are a few things about the different testing kits that are being used by the medical teams working to fight against the virus that you should know. Have a look down below to understand the different testing kits and how they actually work.
Detection kit
Since the start, one of the most problematic issues for this pandemic has been the lack of dependable testing kits for proper and timely diagnostics. Earlier the Pan-Coronavirus testing kit was being used, which was not that reliable at all and required a lot of time and efforts to get result. Now, luckily 2 diagnostic kits are available that have their own advantages. They are as follows-
- RT-PCR-Based testing
This is the primarily used testing kit around the world right now. It is extremely sensitive, detect the virus is early stage and has great accuracy. However, it is a bit slow and might have issues if the virus mutates. These tests are done by taking respiratory samples from your nose or throat. It can be done by using ear tips to collect the phlegm you might have coughed from the lungs
- Anti-Body based testing
Although a bit new, this is fast replacing the older testing kits. This is because it is a lot cheaper than RT-PCR based testing and gives result at a much faster pace as well. One of the best things about this testing kit is that it can diagnose the virus even in non-respiratory fluids like blood. Also these testing kits are vital for tracking the path of the virus and to understand its epidemiology. Despite these benefits, there are a few drawbacks of this kit like false negative results.
