A negative Covid-19 test today, positive tomorrow, and then negative again upon testing the following day.
This was the confusion and frustration a Nelson Mandela Bay family had to endure while they underwent daily rapid Covid-19 testing ahead of a family trip abroad.
The differing results sparked questions about the accuracy of the rapid antigen tests to detect the Omicron variant in its early infection stages.
The couple, who did not want to be named, had plans to visit their children abroad this week.
They had been isolating and taking the rapid antigen test every day.
The man got a different result every second day, while all of his wife’s tests remained negative.
“It does not make sense as we don’t go anywhere or see anyone,” he said.
Dr Siva Pillay, who sits on Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane’s Covid-19 provincial command council, weighed in on the accuracy of rapid tests as compared with PCR tests.
Pillay said both tests were a credible means of detecting the virus, but the PCR test was more sensitive and could pick up even the smallest amount of the variant early on, whereas a rapid test would not.
In a laboratory, PCR testing involves the amplification of genetic material by way of a technique called the polymerase chain reaction which makes it highly sensitive and accurate, Pillay explained.
He said a PCR test took longer to produce results, whereas the rapid test provided them in just a few minutes.
“Rapid tests are credible depending on what you are looking for. The different rapid tests have different antigenic profiles.
“Some rapid tests may not be able to detect the Omicron variant.
“It all depends on the tests’ sensitivity,” Pillay said.
In December, the SA Health Products’ Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) approved the use of a locally developed Covid-19 antigen detection kit developed by Medical Diagnostech.
The latest figures show there are now 10,947 active cases in the Eastern Cape, of which 1,228 are new cases.
The Nelson Mandela Metro remains the front-runner, with the highest number of active cases, at 4,269 followed by Buffalo City Metro at 1,636 cases.
Provincial health department spokesperson Yonela Dekeda said there had been a rapid increase in the number of active cases from December 4 (1,004) with the fourth wave reaching its peak on Christmas Day (18,569).
According to Dekeda, the rise in numbers was due to the Omicron variant being more transmissible in a region with a higher population density.
People who did not adhere to non-pharmaceutical interventions like the wearing of masks, observing social distancing, sanitising and avoiding large gatherings were also contributing factors.
With just more than 40% of eligible residents vaccinated in the Eastern Cape, the department of health has a long way to go to reaching its target of vaccinating more than four million residents against Covid-19 by March.
In a bid to ramp up the vaccinations, the department plans on integrating the programme into routine services provided at clinics and hospitals.
The Sarah Baartman district has the highest number of vaccinated individuals (44,7%), followed by Joe Gqabi (41.3%) and Chris Hani (40,7%).
The percentage of vaccinated individuals in the Bay and Buffalo City is 39.8% and 39.3% respectively.
HeraldLIVE