Dubai Health Authority conducts COVID-19 tests for children through saliva
To ease and facilitate the children, the Dubai Health Authority adopted a method for taking a saliva sample to test for Covid-19 instead of a nasal swab, and accordingly all the laboratory tests that the authority conducts in its various testing centers were conducted.
The authority approved the new method for children between (3-16) years old, based on research and specialized scientific studies and protocols concluded by its strategic partner represented by the Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, which confirmed the possibility of inferring the existence of the Coronavirus or not by examining a sample of Saliva: This step will provide a more comfortable way to test for Covid-19 for children and remove the discomfort caused by nasal swabs.
This research study included 476 children who came to primary health care centers in Dubai, for a Covid-19 examination, from whom saliva samples were collected along with a nasal swab, and then the samples were examined for the detection of the Covid-19 virus in Dubai Health Authority laboratories.
The results of the study showed that saliva can be used to detect the RNA of the virus with a sensitivity of 87.7% and a specificity of 98.5%.
The positive and negative predictive values for saliva testing were 92.2% and 97.6%, respectively.
These results show that saliva can be used as a diagnostic sample to detect Covid-19 virus.
Dr. Farida Al Khaja, Executive Director of the Supportive Medical Services and Nursing Sector at the Dubai Health Authority, said: “The authority is working hard and with great care to facilitate all procedures and methods of laboratory tests for COVID-19, to help community members to conduct the necessary tests to check on their health and safety.”
She stated: "Without a doubt, conducting Covid-19 tests for children through saliva will give the same result if it is done through a nasal swab, but the last method may not be suitable for children. Therefore, the authority discussed the possibility of testing through saliva, with Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and then came the decision to develop the examination method, based on a scientific and medical opinion and an applicable international protocol.
Dr. Hanan Al Suwaidi, co-principal investigator for the study and assistant professor of family medicine at the College of Medicine at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, said: “This study demonstrates the importance of strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors and academic institutions that help carry out such studies and advance scientific research. The role of Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences as a research institution is to create knowledge at the state and global level, and this study is an example of transitional research that can influence policy formulation and assist policymakers in decision-making. We are very proud that Dubai's efforts in combating this pandemic were Backed by research and evidence based, saliva testing will surely provide an easy and comfortable alternative for children and their families. ”
The study is the first of its kind in the UAE and the Middle East, and the largest of its kind so far in the world for the use of saliva to test for Covid-19 in children and comes as a result of the close cooperation efforts between the university and the Dubai Health Authority.
The study had received approval from the Scientific Research Ethics Committee at the Dubai Health Authority and was submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
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