Outbreak control relies more on test frequency than test sensitivity

Outbreak control relies more on test frequency than test sensitivity

3 July 2020

This is the conclusion of a study (not yet peer-reviewed) carried out by a team from Colorado University. In the SARS-Cov-2 outbreak testing appears to play a key role for efficient control as the virus can spread from individuals showing no signs of infection. The most usually used technique is qPCR which is very sensitive but expensive and quite long. The researchers developed a model to measure the impact of widespread surveillance testing on viral spread in a large group of people. They found out that frequency of testing, accessibility and case isolation would be more effective in limiting an outbreak than sensitive testing done less frequently.

Links: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00502-w

http://doi.org/d2gt