The Covid test shows positive even though it's another coronavirus altogether?

[whattheheckactually]

I have a very sensible and clever friend who is a health care professional working with the Covid vaccination trials in the UK.

She mentioned to me that the current covid test picks up other - less dangerous - coronaviruses, eg ones that have been around for years and which we have all caught in the form of a winter cold.

I cannot get my head around this. If correct it raises all sorts of questions, including:

• is this the real reason why we have so many asymptomatic people?
• if someone gets a normal cold, will they test positive for coronavirus and have to isolate, with the impact on their families, jobs, colleagues etc.
• is this the reason why positive numbers are so high?
• is it only certain coronaviruses that can show a positive result?

Or is she wrong altogether?

I know my own family have had two bouts of winter cold symptoms this autumn already but testing revealed we were negative for COVID 19.

It is all so confusing and her statement that the COVID 19 test picks up all sorts of other coronaviruses has sent my head into a spin. As I said, my friend is very level headed and sensible, and she would not want to have scared me (I'm immuno compromised).

Does anyone here have any knowledge about this please?

[SheepandCow]

fullfact.org/online/PCR-test-coronavirus/

Very concerning that there's a HCP with such level of ignorance working on the vaccine trials!

[Missandra]

Wow is this real? If so that’s quite worrying.

[Missandra]

Btw I mean worrying that she really shouldn’t be in the field she works in with such woeful knowledge.

[duffeldaisy]

She’s completely wrong. I’m surprised none of her medical colleagues have explained that to her.

[Autumn101]

She’s wrong - both DH and DS1 had full on colds and were tested and both rightly negative

[katkit]

A negative test on a cold sufferer doesn’t prove her wrong- colds can be rhinoviruses, coronavirises or have another cause.

[katkit]

PS but she’s wrong.

[DamitJanet]

She’s ill informed, and that’s quite worrying given her position.

[Slightlybrwnbanana]

You've just said yourself your own family tested negative with cold symptoms

[XiCi]

Yes I saw this recently from a panel of doctors, that there were many false positives because the test picked up other coronaviruses

[CrunchyCarrot]

PCR is incredibly accurate and sensitive. I used PCR in a lab some years ago to genetically identify fungal DNA, if it was as inaccurate as the OP's friend claims then accurate research would have been impossible! Honestly PCR is VERY accurate and wouldn't pick up some other coronavirus's genetic sequence.

[wherestheotherone]

So what about false positives from swabs that haven't been used? A nursing friend of mine was so dubious about the results coming back to her ward she sent a couple of unused tests to be tested in her hospital. Both came back positive. It's a farce.

[raddledoldmisanthropist]

Yes I saw this recently from a panel of doctors, that there were many false positives because the test picked up other coronaviruses

Really, could you link to the 'panel of doctors'?
A PCR test is looking for the specific DNA of Covid 19, you'd think doctors would know that.

[Bornlazy]

@wherestheotherone

So what about false positives from swabs that haven't been used? A nursing friend of mine was so dubious about the results coming back to her ward she sent a couple of unused tests to be tested in her hospital. Both came back positive. It's a farce.

How did your friend manage to do this? Did she put them through under a patient's name? Was she authorised to do this or just doing it off her own back?

[CoffeeChouxBun]

I have a cold. As I have done daily for months, I logged my symptoms - sore throat, runny nose with the King'sCollege study and was asked to get a test. It came back negative. I definitely had a cold but did not test positive for covid.

[raddledoldmisanthropist]

A nursing friend of mine was so dubious about the results coming back to her ward she sent a couple of unused tests to be tested in her hospital. Both came back positive. It's a farce.

My cat told me your friend made that up. Since both of our anecdotes are equally valid we will never know which one of them is lying.

If only more attention was being paid to Covid 19 we'd probably have tens of thousands of doctors and research scientists all vastly more qualified than your friend and even my cat working to make testing as accurate as possible. I wish reliable news sites would actually publish facts about this stuff so we didn't have to reply on random MNers.

Sadly, since no-one else has noticed what's going on we have to rely on your mate, the OP and my cat for info.

[Reallybadidea]

@wherestheotherone

So what about false positives from swabs that haven't been used? A nursing friend of mine was so dubious about the results coming back to her ward she sent a couple of unused tests to be tested in her hospital. Both came back positive. It's a farce.

In a hospital setting they need to be labelled with patient details or they won't be processed. If your friend sent unused swabs under the name of one of her patients then that result will still be on their medical record and they would have been treated on the basis of the result that came back. If she really did this then that is deeply unethical and probably gross misconduct. Or perhaps she didn't really do it and likes telling tall stories

[SexTrainGlue]

@SheepandCow

fullfact.org/online/PCR-test-coronavirus/

Very concerning that there's a HCP with such level of ignorance working on the vaccine trials!

Good post - SheepAndCow

It seems there are an awful lot on under-informed and gullible people around, even in roles where they really should know better.

[MoggyP]

Or perhaps she didn't really do it and likes telling tall stories

Agree, that little anecdote has all the hallmarks of urban myth

[JamminDoughnuts]

i read that too on some ignorant facebook post.

[wherestheotherone]

She must be lying then. I can only say what she told me 🥴

[NoYouShutUp]

@wherestheotherone

So what about false positives from swabs that haven't been used? A nursing friend of mine was so dubious about the results coming back to her ward she sent a couple of unused tests to be tested in her hospital. Both came back positive. It's a farce.

I'm finding this really hard to believe. Is it a Facebook friend of a friend of a friend?

[BilboBercow]

Genuinely believe people should be banned for spreading information like this

[MoggyP]

Genuinely believe people should be banned for spreading misinformation like this

Genuinely believe people should be banned for spreading disinformation like this

Fixed that for you Bilbo in the two ways it could have happened

[ramblingsonthego]

I see this comment all the time on local Facebook news pages, along with they have a 93% false positive rate. I would assume you or your friend have been reading these false and frankly dangerous words.