How is corona virus tested and why is it important ?

How is corona virus tested and why is it important ?

Although South Korea has a smaller population than the United Kingdom, it has twice as many laboratories and two and a half times more weekly testing capacity than the United Kingdom.
The number of Corona virus cases continues to increase in the world, and where it has affected more than 2.5 million people in more than 200 countries, the death toll has risen to more than 100,000.

Governments around the world have reacted in various ways to the fight against the Corona virus, and one of the things that the World Health Organization has called the most important in this endeavor is the diagnosis of the disease. Is the testing process.

Testing of the corona virus is underway at different speeds in different countries around the world. The United States, which initially showed a slowdown in the process, has now become the most affected country in the world and has now stepped up its testing.

Countries such as South Korea and Germany, on the other hand, have been aggressively testing since the onset of the epidemic, resulting in fewer deaths.

Speaking of Pakistan, there were very few tests in the beginning and by April 15, the test rate was around 360 in a million people nationwide.

What is the difference between corona virus and flu?

How many Corona patients are there in the world and where?

What are the Symptoms of Corona Virus and How to Avoid It?

Corona virus: Why do deaths vary from country to country?

Corona virus: What is a ventilator and how does it work?

Corona virus: Avoid these six fake medical advice

The question is what tests are available in the world to diagnose corona virus and how widely they are used in different countries.

How Many Types of Corona Virus Tests Are There?
In most hospitals around the world, where coronary artery disease is being diagnosed, two types of tests are being performed.

One is Swab Test and the other is Antibodies Test.

The swab test is performed by taking a sample from the suspect's nose or throat and analyzing it in a laboratory to identify the genetic material of the virus.

The second type of test is the antibody test. This test can be used to see if a person has already been infected.

This type of test uses a drop of blood on a device to test for immunity. It's just like a pregnancy test.

The British government has purchased 3.5 million antibody test kits, but so far not a single one has been found that can be considered reliable for large-scale use.

To what extent do these tests produce accurate results?
Swab tests used in hospitals are reliable, but this does not mean that it is possible to identify every coronary virus patient during these tests.

If a patient is at the very beginning of their infection or if the number of viruses in their body is very low, the test of such a patient may be negative.

If a large number of viruses could not be picked up by taking a sample from the throat for a swab test, then the swab test may be negative.

So far, antibody tests have not been so reliable.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said 15 of the best antibody tests were tested, but none of them were good.

Professor John Newton, who oversees the tests in the UK, told the Times that the test kits, bought from China, were able to identify antibodies in patients who were severely ill with the corona virus but whose condition was not serious. Yes, they failed.

Why is testing important?
There are two main reasons for testing people. The first is to diagnose them individually and the second is to find out how far the virus has spread in them.

This information can help the Department of Health and Medical staff plan ahead, including how many units of intensive care will be needed.

Testing can also be helpful in decisions about measures such as social distance. For example, if a large number of people are already infected, there is no special need for lockdown.

And not doing more extensive testing means that many people, including health workers, can isolate themselves for no reason.

How extensive testing is being done by different countries?
The United States is currently the most affected country in the world by corona, with 3.2 million people being tested for corona, of which more than 600,000 have been diagnosed with the virus and more than 30,000 have died.

In addition to the United States, more than a million people have been tested, including Germany (1.7 million), Russia (1.5 million) and Italy, the most affected country in Europe (1.1 million).


As for Pakistan, as of April 15, about 80,000 people have been tested in the country. At present, more than 5,000 tests are being conducted daily in the country, and according to the Prime Minister's Health Adviser, the government plans to increase the number of daily tests to 20,000 to 25,000 by the end of April.