The experimentation of the do-it-yourself tests starts. In Italy and, at the same time, also in the United States and Germany. At the moment the experimentation will involve the Institutes of Microbiology of some hospitals in the Veneto region. First of all, the Ca 'Foncello of Treviso which started research in this area (as had happened with the rapid antigenic tests), however, opening up to teamwork that involved other institutes in the Veneto region.
The first DIY tests will involve two hundred people from two different subject groups. Patients who go to the emergency room and employees of health companies. These are the first news of a test that could be revolutionary. Of great support, on the health front, for the identification and traceability of Covid 19 and to expand screening. But also, on the economic front, to meet some commercial activities. For example, restaurants and hotels that, thanks to do-it-yourself tests, could restart their activities "under control", creating Covid free situations.
The answer in less than two minutes
The DIY test is about the size of a smartphone. The kit contains a bar of soap, a tube with the reagent, the buffer and the bag for later disposal. How to use? The swab is rotated several times in the nasal cavity (it is not needed in depth) and then inserted into the test tube with the reagent. Four drops of the reagent are poured onto the soap which gives the answer in just over a minute. If only one bar is colored, it is the control bar and therefore the test is negative. If two are stained, the test is positive. Everything is then disposed of in the special bag with alcohol which goes into the dry waste.
Il Professor Roberto Rigoli, head of the Institute of Microbiology of the Treviso hospital, who started the experiment, speaks of highly reliable results. With a sensitivity that exceeds 99 percent. "There experimentation could last no more than a month - he explains - then he will have to have the validation of the Higher Institute of Health. We hope that the processes are very fast. Certainly this do-it-yourself test could represent a turning point on several fronts in the fight against Coronavirus ".
The do-it-yourself test: fast, cheap and reliable
As for spending, the kit should cost around three euros, practically within anyone's reach: "The door is open to all interested companies - added Rigoli - as long as they provide guarantees of low prices and high quality". “You don't work for profit - echoed the president of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia - We are public health that treats patients by relying on great professionals ".
Roberto Rigoli (who is also coordinator of the 14 Venetian microbiologies and vice president of Italian microbiologists) and his team have recently been at the forefront of experimenting with rapid antigenic tests, now widespread throughout Italy. “Of course - he concluded Luca Zaia - all these tools must be supported by adequate surveillance and the civic sense of each individual citizen. Distance (and therefore no gatherings), mask and hand hygiene remain and prove, the data of the last few days confirm this, fundamental pillars against contagion ".
