Omicron detectable earlier in the throat: This is how you should use the corona self-test so that the result is correct
Created: 04/20/2022, 11:44 am
By: Juliane Gutmann
Pupils know the process too well: they are among the most frequently corona-tested groups in Germany.
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
The current incidence values underline that the new virus variant Omicron is highly contagious.
Approved self-tests should be able to prove them - especially in the throat.
The nationwide corona incidence has exceeded the 1,400 mark and has thus reached a high.
Doctors and health authorities also attribute this to the new virus mutant Omicron.
This is considered highly contagious, but according to the current state of knowledge does not lead to more dangerous courses of the disease.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), as the leading biomedical research institution of the German federal government, currently sees the incidence of hospitalization* as an important factor in being able to correctly assess the current pandemic situation.
It shows the number of corona cases that have to be treated in a clinic.
How do I recognize that I have been infected with Omicron?
A sequencing brings clarity.
But not all positive corona smears that are sent to laboratories from doctor's offices and other medical facilities are sequenced there.
According to the RKI, this is done on a random basis or if there is a suspicion that the corona sample could be a so-called variant of concern, i.e. a potentially dangerous mutant.
Recognizing omicrons - from 1.83 euros with the HIGHTOP® Coronatest
Up to 99.5 percent accurate, painless to use and inexpensive: The HIGHTOP® corona antigen test (advertising link) provides security.
Which test is suitable to detect omicron?
According to the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), the Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedical Drugs, the majority of the rapid corona tests offered in Germany should also be suitable for detecting the new omicron variant, reports Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR).
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, this means in figures that 80 percent of the antigen rapid tests checked can reliably detect the omicron variant.
But what about self-tests that can be done at home?
Video: These are the best self-tests on the market
Does self-test detect omicron infection?
Smear from the posterior wall of the throat should be useful
The PEI assumes that all self-tests approved in Germany are also suitable for Omikron, reported the Norddeutsche Rundfunk (NDR).
Rapid tests would detect the so-called nucleocapsid protein inside the virus, which is also present in omicron and differs only slightly from earlier variants.
However, according to the NDR, the type of sample collection plays an important role
.
The first indications are that omicrons can be detected earlier in the throat than in the nose.
According to Internet reports, which the Augsburger Allgemeine takes up in a report, the virologist Andreas Dotzauer and the epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb from Bremen are said to have pointed out that a combination nose-throat swab makes sense if you want to detect omicrons.
Dotzauer advocates wiping both the throat and the nose.
This is not always possible, "but there are quick tests that are designed for both," the Augsburger Allgemeine quotes him as saying.
According to the NDR, a pure throat swab is sufficient.
However, self-tests that are approved for throat swabs should not be carried out along the cheek:
users would have to take the swab from the back of the throat, according to NDR
.
(jg) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
This article contains affiliate links
