New Corona Approves a new antigen test reagent for saliva Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare June 19 13:33
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On March 19, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved a new test reagent that can be tested using saliva for the "antigen test," which allows you to quickly check for infections with the new coronavirus. Compared with the conventional method of collecting mucus in the back of the nose, it can reduce the risk of infection such as doctors.
Antigen test is a test that can check for infection with new coronavirus in a shorter time than PCR test, and a simple kit was approved last month.
However, since it is necessary to collect the mucus in the back of the nose, it has been pointed out that if the patient sneezes, the flying flutters and the doctors may be infected by the virus.
Under these circumstances, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved a new antigen test reagent that can be tested in saliva on the 19th.
Unlike conventional kits, the reagents need to be applied to specific test equipment, but the result is obtained in about 30 minutes, and the sensitivity is higher than the conventional one and it is about the same as the PCR test.
However, saliva-based tests are for those who are on the 9th day after the onset of symptoms, and for others, the mucus in the back of the nose is collected.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare plans to apply insurance soon and put it into practical use promptly.
In the future, it is expected that 30,000 reagents will be supplied by the end of this month and 70,000 reagents will be supplied per day from next month. In addition, there are about 800 testing devices in Japan that can support this reagent, and it is expected that the production will further increase in the future.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says that by being able to perform tests using saliva, the risk of infection such as doctors can be kept lower than ever.