How well do lateral flow tests for covid-19 work?

With the now free to use of lateral flow tests now being charged for, they divide the scientific community.

While we strongly believe in their effectiveness and low cost. Others have a different opinion.

Here at the lateral flow Tests site we welcome debate on all the different angles. Like all public health developments good exposure to debate and scurtiny underpinns the eventually deployment of the public health strategy.

While the roll out of vaccines has beeen a priority, along with free widespread testing using lateral flow tests. as the Omicron variant of covid-19 sweeps the country, Greater use of lateral flow tests was the one thing that binded all of the western countries together.

The U K provided free lateral flow test (LFT) kits to the public in April 2021 and had the biggest testing programme in Europe.

Before Christmas 2021 pharmacies globally complained of delayed shipments of lateral flow tests.

Despite growing popularity of lateral flow tests there are some doubters to their effectiveness. See how they work? Are lateral Flow Tests reliable enough.

How do they work, and are they reliable enough to help to curb covid-19?

As now the world knows, lateral flow tests for Covid 19 are taken from the back of the nose and mouth using a swap provided. Simply dipped into the solution to dilute the sample. Then the diluted sample is placed into a cartridge test. As the solution sample is pulled using the capillary mechanism, al ine of antibodies recoginise the Covid 19 antigens. (The specific proteins found on the virus) and highlights these.

If the band changes colour it indicats the Covid 19 pathagen is present.

(Lateral flow tests is in pregnancy tests detecting a hormone present in the urine of the pregant lady.

Any fluids includin blood and saliva, as well as other food stuffs can all be used with lateral flow tests.

The advantages; Speed, Simplicity and low cost.

To go about and judge their accuracy, scientists look at two elements: 1) specificity (the proportion of lateral flow tests that correctly return negative results for covid-19) 2) sensitivity (the proportion of tests that correctly return positive results for people who do).

Varying data from a range of studies have prevented a truely perfect consensus forming on their use for testing.

The America's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found it caught around one-third as many asymptomatic covid-19 cases as PCRs did.

In the UK, the sensitivity by the University of Liverpoool foubd one LFT on the market was 40% sensivitity.

A Danish study found their sensitivity of 70%.

Oxford University Research shows that the sensitivity of the lateral flow tests relative to PCR tests (the Gold Standard), were from 80% in hygine lab environment to 58% when they were carried out in the field with the general public.

Lateral Flow Tests are not perfect.

The data from all of the studies along with the quality and cost associated with lateral flow tests are best at identifying highly infectious patients and individuals. Lateral flow tests help the world to live with covid-19.