01-28-2021, 07:45 AM
China rolls out anal swab coronavirus tests, says it’s more accurate than throat method
Authorities in China have introduced anal swabs as a new type of coronavirus test that could detect the virus more accurately as they struggle to contain rising infections ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations.
Â
This comes after local outbreaks in the country led to China shutting off many of its northern cities.
Â
Before, coronavirus tests were mostly being carried out with nose and throat swabs.
Â
However, the new anal test involves a swab being inserted around two to three centimetres (0.8 to 1.2 inches) into the rectum and being rotated multiple times. The swab is then taken out and sealed in a sample container, a process reported to take around 10 seconds.
Â
Li Tongzeng, a senior doctor from Beijing’s Youan hospital, says the anal swab method “can increase the detection rate of infected people”.
Â
He says this is because virus traces remain longer in the anus than in the respiratory tract, where you collect nasal and throat swabs.
Â
He told CCTV: "We found that some asymptomatic patients tend to recover quickly. It's possible that there will be no trace of the virus in their throat after three to five days.
Â
"But the virus lasts longer from the samples taken from the patient's digestive tract and excrement, compared to the ones taken from the respiratory tract".
Â
Â
News of the new anal swabs has been met with criticism from some experts.
Â
Yang Zhanqiu, a deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University, told state media, Global Times that nasal and throat swabs remain more efficient tests as the virus is a respiratory disease.
Â
He adds: "There have been cases concerning the coronavirus testing positive in a patient's excrement, but no evidence has suggested it had been transmitted through one's digestive system".
Â
Authorities in China have introduced anal swabs as a new type of coronavirus test that could detect the virus more accurately as they struggle to contain rising infections ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations.
Â
This comes after local outbreaks in the country led to China shutting off many of its northern cities.
Â
Before, coronavirus tests were mostly being carried out with nose and throat swabs.
Â
However, the new anal test involves a swab being inserted around two to three centimetres (0.8 to 1.2 inches) into the rectum and being rotated multiple times. The swab is then taken out and sealed in a sample container, a process reported to take around 10 seconds.
Â
Li Tongzeng, a senior doctor from Beijing’s Youan hospital, says the anal swab method “can increase the detection rate of infected people”.
Â
He says this is because virus traces remain longer in the anus than in the respiratory tract, where you collect nasal and throat swabs.
Â
He told CCTV: "We found that some asymptomatic patients tend to recover quickly. It's possible that there will be no trace of the virus in their throat after three to five days.
Â
"But the virus lasts longer from the samples taken from the patient's digestive tract and excrement, compared to the ones taken from the respiratory tract".
Â
Â
News of the new anal swabs has been met with criticism from some experts.
Â
Yang Zhanqiu, a deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University, told state media, Global Times that nasal and throat swabs remain more efficient tests as the virus is a respiratory disease.
Â
He adds: "There have been cases concerning the coronavirus testing positive in a patient's excrement, but no evidence has suggested it had been transmitted through one's digestive system".
Â