Wuhan is ambitious
nucleic acid testing throughout the city The drive came after six new cases appeared in a residential community earlier this month – the first time a local infection was reported following the city’s appearance from months of closure in April.
From May 15 to May 23, swab test samples were collected from more than nine million residents, the Chinese state broadcaster
CCTV reported, accounting for more than 80% of the total population of the city of 11 million.
The nucleic acid test works by detecting the genetic code of the virus, and can be more effective in detecting infections, especially in the early stages, than tests that check the immune response, although the latter is easier to do.
Mass testing identified 198 cases without symptoms – people who carried the virus but showed no symptoms, according to the government-run Health Times.
The speed and scope of the Wuhan testing campaign – hailed as a “10 day battle” by local authorities – appear to have rivaled or exceeded testing capabilities in many countries, including in the United States.
On Friday alone, Wuhan conducted 1.47 million tests, according to CCTV.
In the US, the highest number of daily coronavirus tests conducted in all countries is 416,183, according to
Johns Hopkins University, which refers to data from
Covid-19 Tracking Project.
In total, the United States has conducted 14,131,277 corona virus tests since the pandemic began, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, that number also includes antibody tests conducted in several countries, which are not used to diagnose infections at present but to indicate whether a person has been exposed to the virus in the past.
In Wuhan, sampling booths were set up in neighborhoods throughout the city, with residents in suits to carry out swab tests. On Saturday, authorities prepared 231 additional testing booths for people who could not carry out the previous tests, according to Changjiang Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party in Wuhan.
Health workers also make door-to-door visits to several elderly and disabled residents to take their samples, reports Changjiang Daily.
According to the Chinese news outlet, Caixin, to test quickly and broadly, the Wuhan health authority combined several samples taken from several individuals together and tested them in one tube – a method known as “swimming pool testing.”
If the collected sample tubes are tested positive, additional tests will be carried out on each individual sample separately to find positive samples, said the Caixin report. It is not clear from the report what percentage of the samples in Wuhan have been collected for testing.
CNN has contacted the Wuhan Health Commission to comment on the collected sampling procedure but has not heard back.
In April, scientists in Germany proposed collecting corona virus samples as a strategy to increase testing capacity when large numbers of asymptomatic people needed to be screened, they said.
research published in the medical journal The Lancet.
