Antigen tests conducted in central Cuba

SANTA CLARA, Cuba, Feb 24 (ACN) As an alternative for the early detection and containment of COVID-19, in the midst of the complex epidemiological situation here, the province of Villa Clara promotes the use of rapid antigen tests in primary health care and acute respiratory infections consultations.

María de Lourdes Sánchez Álvarez, director of the Laboratory of Microbiology and Sanitary Chemistry of the Provincial Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology, told ACN that this test—a direct diagnostic method based on nasopharyngeal exudate samples—allows the detection of virus proteins, part of the viral particle, and could speed up the response of health systems to the epidemic.

Due to the high sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic test, it is applied to symptomatic patients (in the first five days from the onset of symptoms) who have not been in direct contact with an infected person. Otherwise, they are sent directly to an isolation center as suspected cases, explained Bárbara Arroba Capote, a doctor at a local polyclinic.

In acute respiratory infection consultations, symptoms are analyzed to evaluate whether they correspond to those of SARS-CoV-2 (fever, respiratory difficulties, loss of taste and smell, among others) and patients are questioned about possible contacts with inbound travelers or people who have tested positive to the virus.

In spite of the advantages of the antigen test, such as speed, simplification of sanitary procedures and lower costs, specialists in this province keep evaluating the effectiveness of the test within the current epidemiological situation of the province.