Experts doubt the introduction of a COVID detector at an early stage

Test systems similar to the technology for detecting CORONAVIRUS at an early stage developed by Rospotrebnadzor have been known for a long time, but they are rarely used in practice, experts interviewed by RBC said.

Earlier, Rospotrebnadzor reported that scientists from the Central Research Institute (TsNII) of epidemiology subordinate to it had developed a technology capable of detecting coronavirus at the earliest stages at its minimum concentration in the body - the so-called covid-19 detector .

“Test systems based on isothermal genome amplification were developed at the very beginning of the pandemic. But so far they rarely reach practical application, mainly for organizational and logistical reasons, ”virologist, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Lukashev told RBC.

According to him, the question of the application of this technology is already organizational, commercial, and not scientific. And for its use, devices are needed, albeit inexpensive ones, but which are not available in every laboratory, Lukashev noted.

“There is an antigen test for quick diagnosis, and PCR for accurate diagnosis. And this technology will be more accurate, but much more expensive and more complicated than the antigen test, it will, of course, be much faster than PCR. But how successful the combination of characteristics of the new technology will be is still unknown,” he said.