Azerbaijan Refuses Rapid Tests for Coronavirus Due to Low Reliability

Baku /19.12.20 / Turan: Every day 40-50 people die from the coronavirus in Azerbaijan - so many died every day in the war for Karabakh. Before the country returned to quarantine limits, the daily infection rate was more than 4,200 people; on December 18, the figure dropped below the level of four thousand per day.

The people are scared. In response to what is happening, the deputy of the Milli Mejlis Musa Guliyev demanded the import of express tests to the country for the rapid diagnosis of coronavirus. Rapid tests are not used in Azerbaijan. In addition to the speed of reaction, the low cost of this method matters. While laboratory diagnostics of coronavirus costs 120 or more manats in Baku, in Russia, China and Taiwan express tests cost 17-46 manats in ruble terms.

Dr. Mahir Ramazanov, in an interview with Turan, said rapid tests are not used in the Memorial clinic in Baku, where laboratory tests are carried out to determine the coronavirus.

“We do not import express tests into the country, and we use what companies import. We will not use express tests due to the low efficiency of this method. When used, sick people can be defined as healthy. Express tests cannot replace fundamental laboratories, and the results of urgent tests then need to be confirmed in laboratories,” Ramazanov said.

His statement contradicts the advertising text of the European Medical Clinic (EMC) in the Russian Federation, which reports that the innovative rapid test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 from the South Korean company RapiGEN gives a result in 20 minutes, the sensitivity is 92%, and the specificity is 98%. The test is approved by Roszdravnadzor.

However, in a Ukrainian source, a similar advertisement is accompanied by an explanation: the test gives an instant result. Blood for this analysis is taken from a finger. If the result of the express text is positive, it is imperative that a PCR test be prescribed to confirm or deny the diagnosis. Another feature of express testing is the determination of the presence of antibodies to COVID-19 in the blood on the 5-7th day after the onset of the disease. In the early stages of illness, this test is useless.

In TƏBIB (Azerbaijan Association of Medical Territorial Administration) Turan was informed about the position of the state department.

“Rapid tests were tested in Azerbaijan and it turned out that this method shows a negative result in patients who recently became infected, recovered and received a low viral load. And at those with high temperature and actively ill they can also show a negative result. Therefore, it was decided to abandon express tests,” the TƏBİB spokesperson Elnara Bakhshiyeva said.

“At the same time, - she continued, - there are no restrictions on the use of express tests at home, every citizen is free to use what he considers necessary for himself. TƏBİB does not import medicines or other medical products."

Let's add the official WHO recommendation to the above. The World Health Organization welcomes and promotes the widespread use of rapid tests in poor and developing countries.

“The sooner we can diagnose COVID-19, the sooner we will take steps to isolate and treat people infected with the deadly virus,” said World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Gebrejesus.

According to the head of WHO, the new testing methodology allows you to get a reliable result in about 15-30 minutes, and not in hours or days, as it was before. At the same time, new tests are cheaper and do not require complex technical equipment. “This will allow expanding testing in hard-to-reach areas where there are no medical laboratories and trained specialists,” stressed Tedros Adhanom Gebrejesus.

In the list of hard-to-reach places, WHO includes closed or semi-closed collectives, including schools, boarding houses, sea liners, prisons, workplaces, hostels, etc.

Currently, the cost of a single rapid test is approximately US $ 5, which is significantly less expensive than previous generation tests. In the future, WHO expects even greater price reductions.

A negative rapid test result does not completely rule out active COVID-19 infection. If possible, all samples (or a subgroup of samples) that are characterized as positive as a result of the use of rapid tests should be sent to a laboratory with special equipment and specialists to confirm the results, the WHO adds.   —0—