Accuracy of Antigen tests

[rott]

What is the general/conventional attitude to the Antigen tests.? 

80% accurate? 90%/95%? 

Many places where they are totally unacceptable.?

 

Thanks for any replies or info. 

[DavisH]

For the Viraspec saliva test - from their data, below. The specificity of this test is 99.9%. That means if you test positive with this test you are almost certainly positive - the false positive rate is just 0.1%

 

If you test negative with this test, there is about a 10% chance you are actually positive. 

 

I believe this test is / will be available in Thailand. I saw something in the press recently about it. I  have not looked at data from other kits. 

 

 

The Aegirbio Viraspec COVID-19 Saliva Test is an easy-to-use lateral flow test that rapidly detects COVID-19 using saliva samples. When repetitive use is needed, or when testing on children, a nose swab or blood extraction is highly inconvenient.

The Viraspec COVID-19 Test uses a mix of saliva and dilution liquid that reacts to the COVID-19 antigen in under 10 minutes, giving an easily read result. Compared to RT-PCR, human clinical trials have shown the test to have a sensitivity of 90 % for SARS-CoV-2 infections with a specificity of 99.9 %.

 

 

 

[treetops]

You would need to ask test suppliers about their particular products as all will vary slightly.

 

For admission to the UK, for example, the figures required are ≥97% specificity and ≥80% sensitivity at viral loads above 100,000 copies/ml. so that could give you something to compare with.