Third option added to Guyana’s COVID-19 testing portfolio

Nov 29, 2020 News

– Private health institutions to be certified once criteria is met

The National Public Health Reference Laboratory.

Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Health (MOH) has added the rapid antigen test as a third option to Guyana’s COVID-19 testing portfolio. The rapid antigen test detects viral proteins and gives a positive test result when a person is most infectious and it delivers faster test results according to the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO).
The tests were to be rolled out by the end of last week or early this week within public health institutions. It was mentioned by the Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, as he spoke on the matter last week. He further went on to say that if private institutions wish to introduce these tests they must first meet the criteria. Once the ministry sees that they have met the criteria, they can be certified to offer the testing.
“Now, I’m sure there might be labs, who would start bringing in rapid antigen tests, once they meet the criteria because WHO (World Health Organization) has established some criteria for these types of tests as well, we would check. So, whoever wants to use them could contact the Ministry, and we will go through a process of vetting, and once it meets those criteria, we will allow it,” Anthony had said.
He disclosed that the rapid antigen tests will be used mainly in hinterland areas to improve their testing capacity.
This publication previously reported that despite the testing capacity being increased at the National Public Health Reference Laboratory in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), the delivery of speedy test results in remote areas was still delayed. This was because the test samples being taken in those areas would have to be transported to the lab in Georgetown then have the results taken back to their respective areas. Further, Dr Anthony had noted that sending out swabs for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests was a challenge for the ministry.
The government has acquired 20,000 antigen tests for use and of these tests, one set came from the US and the other from South Korea. The first set, a test named “Panbio” was produced by Abbott Laboratories and takes about 20 minutes to be completed. The second set was acquired through PAHO who sourced it out of South Korea.
Notwithstanding, the rapid antigen test being added to Guyana’s COVID-19 testing portfolio, the Health Ministry maintains that the PCR test is still the gold standard for testing as it is the most accurate.
The second test that was added to the portfolio was the rapid antibody test, however, this was rarely used.
In one instance, it was used for mass screening of teachers and students in Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo). This was a result of circulating claims in the media, alleging that several students had tested positive for the virus in various sections of the region.
A Ministry spokesman told this newspaper that rapid antibody testing shows if someone contracted the virus in the past. A positive test result from an antibody tests means that the person would have contracted the virus but has already recovered and they were more than likely asymptomatic.