New study finds that saliva testing might be better and quicker than the standard method of COVID-19 testing — nasal swab.
![Safer and Quicker Alternative to Nasal Swabs — Saliva Testing Safer and Quicker Alternative to Nasal Swabs — Saliva Testing](https://images.medindia.net/health-images/1200_1000/test-for-covid-19-at-home-easily.jpg)
‘New study finds that saliva testing might be better and quicker than the standard method of COVID-19 testing — nasal swab.’
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The study team drove their motivation through the urgent need to increase testing early in the pandemic. ![twitter](https://images.medindia.net/icons/news/social/twitter.png)
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“We collected saliva and mid-turbinate [nasal] swab samples from contacts every 2 or 3 days during their quarantine period. All samples were tested using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] to detect SARS-CoV-2 and measure how much viral RNA was in the samples. We then analyzed how these results changed in the days before and after symptom onset. Early in the course of infection, saliva was significantly more sensitive than mid-turbinate nasal swabs.” “We expect that if rapid saliva tests become available, they could be a major advance from the current nasal swab-based rapid tests,” says Milton.
Source-Medindia