THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
June 2, 2020 at 18:17 JST
Equipment used for polymerase chain reaction tests to confirm COVID-19 infections (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The health ministry on June 2 approved a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that uses saliva to confirm COVID-19 infections, which is less painful for patients and safer for medical workers than the one using mucus samples.
Health minister Katsunobu Kato said using saliva would greatly reduce the burden on the patient and medical care workers taking the sample.
Until now, the PCR tests used mucus samples taken from deep inside a patient’s nose with a cotton swab. Not only was that uncomfortable for the patient, but nurses or medical care workers taking the sample risked infection if the patient sneezed or coughed during the procedure.
The health ministry approved the use of saliva PCR tests on the condition that samples are taken from patients within nine days of them first displaying COVID-19 symptoms.
Public health insurance programs will cover the cost of the saliva test, which can now be conducted at hospitals and medical clinics.
Because of the higher risk of infection in taking mucus from a patient’s nose, only medical institutions equipped to deal with suspected COVID-19 infections were allowed to conduct PCR tests. Staff who took the samples also were required to wear face shields and long-sleeve gowns.
But because patients will deposit their saliva into a container themselves and hand it to medical staff, workers at the institutions only need to wear face masks and gloves to protect against infection.
PCR tests using mucus and those using saliva showed almost identical results if conducted within nine days after a patient first displays symptoms, a health ministry research team found.
The team reached the conclusion after comparing 88 cases using samples taken from patients within two weeks after their symptoms first appeared.
Following the result, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases revised its manual on taking samples for PCR tests to permit saliva tests.
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