Researchers from the University of Edinburgh have launched a Covid-19 test called the TestEd to detect the SARS-CoV-2 infection from a saliva sample deposited in a tube. The researchers have applied an innovative approach called hypercube sample pooling where a large number of samples can be processed at once. The Medical Research Council (MRC) recently awarded TestEd a $2.50m grant to scale up its testing of students and staff to reaffirm its efficacy.
According to new draft legislation from the UK government, all Covid-19 molecular and antigen tests available for purchase will have to be validated before being marketed in tthe country from 1 September 2021. The law is expected to bring all private Covid-19 tests in line with the standards of the NHS Test and Trace device. The government already ensures safety measures for all PCR and LFD tests provided through NHS Test and Trace and for all tests used for international travel.
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Therma Bright has provided an update on the performance of its AcuVid Covid-19 rapid antigen saliva test in a Brazilian clinical study, which enrolled 63 subjects into a nasal swab RT-PCR test and a saliva-based AcuVid test. The test showed 100% specificity for the 28 RT-PCR negative samples and 100% sensitivity for the 28 positive RT-PCR results.
