The Norwegian municipality of Trondheim will be the first in the country to test for coronavirus by collecting saliva in a tube.
Trondheim in Norway will be the first region in the country to set up saliva testing for COVID-19, reports NRK Trøndelag. Nasopharyngeal swabs can be very uncomfortable to use. Now, people in Trondheim will be able to carry out their own test for the virus by collecting their saliva in a tube, with 90% of test results returned within one day.
According to NRK Trøndelag, unit manager for medical services and infection control work in Trondheim, Hilde Myhre, says this method will increase testing capacity in the region.
Self-testing for COVID-19
Pilot projects have already been carried out at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) on 150 students, which have had successful results.
The method is both practical and painless and decreases the amount of infection control equipment used, as well as the amount of personnel needed for COVID-19 testing – freeing up staff that can now be deployed in the region’s vaccination efforts.
This type of testing works at the same level of specificity and sensitivity to the established tests and is also just as safe. Experts believe this method will also increase testing uptake due to its painless and easy method – therefore, potentially detecting more cases than with current testing.
It is also believed this method will allow for tests to be handed out to people around the city who can conduct their test in a place suitable for them and return it at a suitable time to the testing station.
To read the full article on NRK Trøndelag please visit: https://www.nrk.no/trondelag/trondheim-apner-norges-forste-stasjon-for-koronatest-med-spyttprover-1.15523801
