Health DG, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah advises against the use of Rapid Test Antibody Kits (RTK) as an effective measure of Covid-19 verification.
During his live press conference today (11th May), Dr Noor Hisham said several issues were raised by parties who have been using these test kits at private clinics for workers screening to return to their jobs.
According to MOH’s Facebook page, the Rapid Test Antibody Kit was revealed to be ineffective as it uses blood samples from a finger prick and this cannot be taken as a confirmation test as the presence of the antibody doesn’t confirm whether the infection is active or not. In other words, even if the results of the antibody come back negative, it does not guarantee that the tested patient is not infected with Covid-19.
Nonetheless, the test still has a purpose, said our Health DG. “The antibody RTK test can be used for the purpose of implementation of the study-19 infection in the society or among the target groups (like testing groups of workers). These are still in line with the recommendations entailed by WHO.”
Instead, MOH recommends the use of the Covid-19 virus testing “using the antigen test through Real-Time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test or the RTK Antigen exam.”
These two tests are more reliable because “it requires (NPS) intake by members who are trained by using proper self-protective tools as well as lab equipment such as Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC) when processing taken samples.”
The Health DG added that there is “no strong evidence of scientific studies showing that people who have antibodies and recovered from Covid-19 are protected from being infected a second time.”
With new developments being discovered about the virus each day, we must stay alert and up to date with the latest on how to tackle this virus more effectively.
Also read: JUST IN: Malaysia Records 70 New Cases Bringing Total to 6,726; Recoveries Increase to 5,113
