Coronavirus, how the do-it-yourself test in Veneto works

Coronavirus, how the do-it-yourself test in Veneto works

Experimentation on do-it-yourself tests for coronavirus has just started in Veneto, which will allow, once available in pharmacies, a quick diagnosis directly from home and at a cost of less than 3 euros

(photo : Yogendra Kumar / Hindustan Times via Getty Images) Their experimentation in Veneto has just started. These are the do-it-yourself tests, easy to use and cheap, which will allow us to very quickly confirm whether or not the coronavirus is positive directly from home. Without, therefore, having to turn to the regional health system, and in fact allowing to lighten at least in part its enormous pressure. For now, as reported by the President of the Region Luca Zaia, who considers them a revolution in screening processes, 5 thousand kits are coming for the self-administration of the test, so the experimentation will take place in double: to test its effectiveness and reliability, in fact, each do-it-yourself test performed will then be validated with the classic molecular swab. But how exactly do they work?

Do-it-yourself tests for the coronavirus, which look for the surface proteins characteristic of the virus, consist of a swab, similar to a cotton swab, which is inserted into the nasal passages (in the nostrils). Subsequently, it will be immersed in a container equipped with the reagent, to have the positive or negative result for coronavirus. Once the result is obtained, you will have to connect via smartphone to the biosurveillance app called Zero Covid Veneto (which has just received the OK for privacy from the Regional Council), where people who tested positive will have to upload the result to communicate it to the authorities sanitary.

As Zaia reports on her Facebook page, the crucial step will be the green light from the Higher Institute of Health, which will depend on several factors: in addition to the specificity and sensitivity of the do-it-yourself test, for example, the clarity of execution and the fact that it does not present harmful aspects will also have to be evaluated. Once the validation is passed, the do-it-yourself test will be ready to go on sale in pharmacies, at a cost of less than 3 euros. According to Ranieri Guerra, deputy director of the World Health Organization, the tests are similar to a pregnancy test and will soon be available in pharmacies. In a statement to the television program Otto e Mezzo, in fact, he reported: “science is making available, even in pharmacies, self-diagnosis tests that everyone can do at home. The prototypes are there, I saw them about twenty days ago, the regulatory process must be completed. I believe they will be available in weeks ”.