THE Department of Health (DOH) has warned against mass testing using rapid antibody-based test kits without the supervision of health professionals.
“We urge the public to be cautious and vigilant as fake rapid antibody test kits are being promoted and marketed, especially in online platforms,” the DOH said in a statement on Wednesday, noting that the list of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved rapid antibody-based tests is available in the FDA website and is continuously being updated.
Meanwhile, the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) urged the DOH to conduct periodic testing for healthcare workers (HCWs), if only to limit the risks of them infecting their families during the periods when they are put on quarantine in between their weeklong duty at the Covid-19 frontlines.
“Periodic testing can reassure the HCWs and response teams that they are not a source of infection to their families and patients when they report back for work and resume their duties. This will also improve the morale of our HCWs and give them the confidence to complete their jobs with minimal distractions,” the PCP said in a statement.
Furthermore, the PCP said, setting up quarantine spaces for HCWs will not necessarily guarantee that they will not be exposed to or expose themselves to others for the duration of their stay, further underscoring the need for periodic testing.
“This is the reality of our current situation. We strongly urge the DOH and all testing facilities to allot test kits for the periodic testing of our healthcare workers, so we can eliminate and prevent further casualties in this war of attrition,” the group added.
However, Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that HCWs are now included in the category of vulnerable populations like senior citizens, patients with cancer, diabetes and hypertension, and pregnant women with mild symptoms and those experiencing severe symptoms. They get priority for Covid-19 testing.
Vergeire said that this was made possible through the amended policy for patients under investigation.
Guidelines on rapid testing
The DOH earlier issued guidelines on the Use of Rapid Antibody-Based Testing Kits.
These guidelines are informed by the recommendations of the Health Technology Assessment Council and the latest practice guidelines of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Disease, and prepared in consultation with the Covid-19 Technical Advisory Group.
The RT-PCR test which involves nasal or throat swab to check for the presence of Covid-19 remains the gold standard in confirmatory testing.
Samples are brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and other subnational laboratories, where RT-PCR tests are run.
As of April 1, the agency had processed more than 16,000 of these tests, with more than 89,000 test kits available for use, and several thousand more are expected with the rollout of the test kits locally produced by the University of the Philippines.
The DOH explained that rapid antibody-based test kits, which involve testing a blood sample, may serve as an indicator of whether one has been exposed to Covid-19, but it has its limitations.
Rapid antibody-based test kits cannot confirm if a person has the coronavirus and it also does not tell if a person is infectious to people around him.
If a person shows symptoms of Covid-19 and is administered a rapid antibody-based test, there are two things that he should do:
● If tested negative, this does not mean he doesn’t have infection. He needs to self-isolate for 14 days to limit the chances of infecting people he comes in close contact with.
● If tested positive, this will still need to be confirmed through RT-PCR.
In addition to self-isolating, there is a need to coordinate the visit of a person from a health facility who can perform throat or nose swab, and send this for RT-PCR confirmatory testing.
The DOH also warned of the risk of misinterpreting the results, adding that only physicians should use the kits and advise patients of the results of rapid antibody-based test kits.
The underscored it is aware of the importance of having the full picture of Covid-19 in the Philippines, and vowed to keep expanding its testing capabilities and release test results faster.
“In doing so, however, we do not wish to compromise your health and safety which is why we want to ensure that tests are used properly,” the DOH concluded.
Image credits: DOST