GALICIA: Most covid-19 tests are still administered with a cotton swab in the nose and throat. However, in the region of Galicia, tests are also being carried out by anal checks. These reliable tests are being used more and more in China. Test samples from the rectum have also been found to be more reliable than from airways.
Anal corona PCR tests are only used on patients with severe symptoms, according to the Galician television channel CRTVG. Tests have proven to be more effective than the cotton swab in the nose and throat. Traces of the coronavirus remain longer in the last part of the digestive tract than in the upper tract. This is despite it being a respiratory virus. Due to the greater reliability of anal tests, these are now being used in China in situations where hotel quarantine may be required.
Airways test not always possible
The Galician public health service Sergas informed ABC.es newspaper that this test method is not new. It has been in use in Galicia since the start of the pandemic. However, only for seriously ill patients, those that need to be ventilated, or patients with a vulnerable respiratory system. In addition, the anal test method offers advantages when testing babies and people with certain psychiatric conditions and who would otherwise find it difficult to cooperate. For the remainder, PCR tests with mucous membranes from the nose and throat remain the preferred method for detecting the presence of coronavirus in the body.
