Systematically test all symptomatic cases and their surroundings in record time. As deconfinement is fast approaching, a promising saliva test is in the validation phase.

This test would detect the presence of the virus, without using laboratories. The government, which announced, Thursday, May 7, want to practice up to 700,000 tests per week, relies on this system. It could be generalized at a lower cost and make up for the shortages of equipment, which are controversial in France. France 24 met with Franck Molina, director of research at the CNRS in charge of the EasyCov project.

France 24: What are the advantages of the saliva test?

Franck Molina: This is a field test to detect the presence of the virus, which can be done by the patient himself and gives a result visible to the naked eye in 30 minutes. It is more practical and less unpleasant than the so-called conventional PCR test, which is a deep rhino pharyngeal sample. The advantage is that it does not require laboratory analysis and very few reagents. It is estimated that it is ten times cheaper than the conventional PCR test, without counting the costs of the latter in terms of infrastructure and personnel.

We aim for at least equivalent reliability, that is to say 70% on symptomatic people, and hope to be able to detect a maximum of asymptomatic patients, which is more complicated because their virological load is sometimes lower.

Where are we in the validation process?

We are in the final validation phase, it's a matter of days. We operate double blind with the Montpellier CHU, each makes its analyzes to then cross the results.

We are a little late, about a week and a half, because there are few patients in Montpellier; it becomes difficult to collect enough samples and saliva samples are difficult to transport from the most affected areas. The deconfinement risks provoking a gentle increase in cases, which would allow us to finish. We also plan to expand our tests to surrounding hospitals if necessary. This delay is also due to logistical problems caused by the crisis in obtaining the reagents.

However once validated, the industrialization of manufacturing should be very rapid. We want to start with a production of 800,000 to reach one million tests per week in late May. It will have to be practiced under medical supervision as a first step because, even if we designed it as a self-test that may be available in pharmacies, the dangers of self-use must be evaluated and it is a rigorous process which takes time.

What place should this test take within the deconfinement system?

The state strategy is based on large platforms that massively produce traditional PCR test. Our goal is to add more agility to the system. There are many areas where contacts are hard to avoid and where it is essential to test easily and quickly. This is the case in the field of sport but also in prisons or nursing homes.

Several professions are also concerned, such as dentists, who are particularly at risk of being contaminated by their patients, who must be able to be tested effectively without harming the activity of the offices. The saliva test is a process of accompaniment to the health response, adapted to both specific and very numerous cases.

With the Covid-19 crisis, France faced significant shortages which it is still struggling to overcome. What lessons should be learned at this point?

In terms of testing, the supply problem comes mainly from reagents. With the international pandemic all countries wanted to buy the same type of product, but it is not a mass medical device and demand has greatly exceeded production capacity. Some have fared better than others because they have been able to rely on local production, but the shortage has affected everyone.

Today we realize that it is essential to be independent in terms of health and not only in the fields of food and energy. We must secure our reagent production sector while maintaining our capacity for innovation. This crisis invites us to be humble because if certain lessons can be learned at this stage, many uncertainties remain, about the virus and the deconfinement promises to be an extremely complicated process.

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