SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Scientists from the three principal public universities in Costa Rica, the University of Costa Rica, the Technologic University and the National University, completed the first prototype of saliva tests for a speedy diagnosis of COVID-19.
After almost a month of investigation and the support of more than 20 specialists, the scientists begin with the verification phase of the saliva tests they are developing for the fast diagnosis of COVID-19.
With the use of synthetic genes also designed by the scientists, the preliminary results obtained so far are successful, according to the scientists.
“The first results show that in vitro tests using synthetic genes achieved a sensitivity of 94.4 percent in the ability of the test to detect the disease. It also has a specificity level of 100 percent in the case of applying the test to healthy individuals,” German Madrigal, director of the Institute for Pharmaceutical Research said. “The percentages obtained are very high and mean that the test has great potential to improve the diagnosis of COVID-19.”
Intending to carry the validation tests, the scientists designed synthetic COVID-19 genes and artificial saliva as a first step to counteract the results with the standard test known as Polymerase chain reaction, PCR.
The most common test is the PCR, which is a process that amplifies (replicates) a small, well-defined segment of DNA hundreds of thousands of times, creating enough of it for analysis. Samples can be obtained by a nasopharyngeal swab (or nasopharyngeal culture) for collecting nasal secretions from the back of the nose and throat.
If this new test successfully passes the following two stages that are still pending, it is expected that within a few months the university will share with Social Security, the Ministry of Health and any company that wishes to produce the tests.
The country will have an additional resource to the standard test for the diagnosis of COVID-19 with 70 percent less cost, the scientist said in the statement.
The speedy and efficient detection of COVID-19 is vital for health authorities, due to the increase in virus contagions in the country.
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