Cirad de la Réunion has developed a new screening test for Covid-19 that is both faster than a PCR and more reliable than an antigen.
The Ministry of Health has given the green light for its approval, and it should therefore begin to be used in the coming days.
This is a promising announcement.
Reunion Island's CIRAD (Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development) has developed a new Covid-19 screening test that is both more reliable than antigenic and faster than PCR.
Sensitive to the English, Brazilian and South African variants, it received the green light from the Ministry of Health in early February.
Called RunCov, this new generation test will be tested in the days or weeks to come.
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A readable result in 5 to 30 minutes
The collection method is the same as for PCR and antigen testing: long swabs pushed into the nostrils.
The next step is more innovative.
The nasal sample is slipped into a tube, which is itself placed in a large machine capable of analyzing it instantly.
A significant time saving, since there is no need to send the tests to laboratories.
The result is readable in 5 minutes if the viral load is high, in half an hour if it is low.
By comparison, it takes at least ten hours for a PCR test.
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Experimentation in airports
To develop its technique, CIRAD was inspired by methods for diagnosing diseases affecting plants.
"These so-called RT-Lamp molecular methods, based on the amplification of pieces of DNA from the pathogen, also work on human viruses", explained Isabelle Robène, researcher at Cirad de la Réunion, to the daily
Liberation
.
The time saving is explained by the fact that the virus RNA is not extracted from the sample but processed at room temperature.
This new test will initially be available at the Saint-Pierre hospital, before being offered to travelers going from Réunion to Mayotte and then on flights to the metropolis.