Testing people en masse for Corona poses problems for authorities and the healthcare system. Germany's doctors are calling for a general overhaul of the test strategy. Because the practices face another challenge.
Berlin (dpa) - In view of the current problems with the corona tests in Germany, medical president Klaus Reinhardt calls for an increased use of rapid tests.
In addition, the medical practices are foreseeably busy during the cold and flu season - Corona series tests should therefore only be carried out in outsourced test centers or in medical practices that specialize in this, Reinhardt told the German Press Agency in Berlin. Reinhardt called for "a general overhaul of our corona test strategy and suitable concepts for seasonal influenza vaccination".
In Bavaria, the results of tens of thousands of tests carried out by holidaymakers did not initially reach those affected. According to the German Association of Cities, the tests at airports have so far been organized with the help of mountains of individual sheets of paper handed out by the airlines.
Reinhardt also explained: "The medical practices in Germany are faced with an enormous double burden if, in a few weeks, rising corona infection numbers coincide with the annual flu season."
Regarding the test methods, Reinhardt said: "The PCR test as a standard method is very precise, but it is also time-consuming." Corona rapid tests may not be that exact. "In return, however, many more people could be easily tested in a short time and chains of infection interrupted more quickly."
The PCR test, the current standard test, is the world's first diagnostic test for the coronavirus. The genetic material of the pathogen is isolated from the sample in the laboratory. Pathogens can be detected in very low concentrations.
The RT-LAMB saliva test is easier to use. For other infectious diseases, the technology has proven to be highly specific, sensitive and fast. The RT-LAMP test for the SARS-CoV-2 was able to successfully detect the virus within 30 to 45 minutes in a study in all human sample types to which genetic SARS-CoV-2 material was added. Then there is the rapid PCR test. These are rapid tests using the PCR method that can be carried out outside of the laboratory. To do this, you put cartridges with airway samples into a device with an automatic analysis system - the result is there after about an hour. But the systems are expensive.
Reinhardt also demanded: "We also need nationwide standardized and binding test strategies for the medical staff themselves." It is good and right that "we create sufficient test opportunities for those returning to travel". But it cannot be that doctors and other health professionals are left out - especially in the upcoming flu season.
"In the cold and flu season, there is a lot of activity in our practices," said Reinhardt. "Then there is hardly any time for corona series tests of entire population groups without symptoms." He demanded: "Such screenings should only take place in outsourced test centers or in medical practices that specialize in them, organized by the health authorities or the local statutory health insurance physicians' associations." Reinhardt emphasized: "We absolutely have to avoid overloading practices and clinics with corona and influenza." Influenza vaccination is therefore particularly important this year. "Manufacturers and politicians must ensure that there are sufficient production capacities and suitable accessories such as syringes and cannulas," said the medical president. "That is now elementary." He added: "We cannot afford any new delivery bottlenecks now."
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