Lateral flow tests may be more than 90% effective at detecting people at their most infectious, study finds
Scientists say they may know why some lateral flows are coming back negative before people receive positive PCR test results.
This is because it may mean someone is not at "peak transmissible stage" as lateral flow tests (LFTs) pick up when someone is at their most infectious, they claim.
They argued the tests are actually more accurate than previously thought and can't be compared directly to how PCRs work as they work in a different way.
A study in Clinical Epidemiology found the lateral flows are likely more than 80% effective at detecting any level of infection, and likely more than 90% effective at detecting those who are most infectious.
The experts say lateral flows detect material from the surface proteins of the virus and are very likely to give a positive result when someone is infectious.
Whereas PCR tests detect the genetic material which can be present for weeks after someone's no longer infectious.
Professor Michael Mina, from the Harvard School of Public Health, said: "There is a spectrum of infectious amounts of the COVID-19 virus and we show that LFTs are likely to detect cases 90-95% of the time when people are at their most infectious.
"The tests could achieve even 100% sensitivity when viral loads are at their peak and therefore catch nearly everyone who is currently a serious risk to public health.
"It is most likely that if someone's LFT is negative but their PCR is positive then this is because they are not at peak transmissible stage."
Professor Irene Petersen, from University College London's Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, added: "Previous studies comparing the reliability of lateral flow tests and PCR tests could be potentially misleading because a PCR test is a marker of having been infected at some point within a certain window of time and does not necessarily mean someone is infectious when testing positive."
They concluded the tests are a reliable public health tool in curbing coronavirus from spreading.
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19m ago
11:22
Cases and deaths surge to record highs in Russia
Russia has reported a record 986 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24-hour period.
A further 31,299 new cases were also recorded – the country's highest one-day infection tally since the start of the pandemic.
The rising death toll has been blamed by the Kremlin on the slow vaccination campaign.
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37m ago
11:04
London's night Tube to return next month
Night services on the London Underground, which run on the weekends, have been suspended since March 2020 due to the pandemic.
They will return on the busy Central and Victoria lines throughout the night on Fridays and Saturdays from 27 November.
It comes after a petition was signed by tens of thousands of people calling for it to resume to help protect women and girls.
Transport for London (TfL) says the night Tube will return to the remaining lines as soon as possible.
Services will resume next month
Services will resume next month
PA
Transport bosses say the night service was suspended because drivers were needed to ensure the Tube service during the day stays as frequent as possible.
They added the Tube was also impacted by staff absences caused by the pandemic, at a time when passengers numbers dropped by over 90%.
London's mayor Sadiq Khan said restarting it now, after "the COVID pause", is because of its importance to "London's thriving night-time economy, to London's recovery and to the confidence and safety of everyone travelling home at night, particularly women and girls".
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37m ago
11:03
COVID around the world in pictures
Indonesia's resort island of Bali reopened today to foreign tourists following border closures during the pandemic.
But despite reopening, no international flights are currently scheduled for the island's Ngurah Rai international airport, with pictures from today showing it completely empty.
As we've been reporting, the UK is not on the current list of 19 countries which can enter.
The airport was deserted today
The airport was deserted today
Reuters
Bali has reopened to visitors from 19 countries
Bali has reopened to visitors from 19 countries
Reuters
An officer stands at Ngurah Rai International Airport
An officer stands at Ngurah Rai International Airport
Reuters
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1h ago
10:41
A&E waiting times of more than 12 hours at record levels
NHS England said a record 5,025 people had to wait more than 12 hours at A&Es in England in September this year from a decision to admit to actually being admitted.
This is up from 2,794 the month before and is the highest for any calendar month since records began in August 2010.
A total of 104,875 people waited at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission, which is the highest monthly total on record.
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1h ago
10:37
The NHS saw the busiest September on record this year, figures show
More than 1.39 million people were treated at major A&Es during September - the highest ever for the month, the NHS said.
Ambulances responded to a record 76,000 life-threatening call-outs, an increase of more than 20,000 on the previous high for September, while 999 took nearly one million calls in September.
NHS 111 also experienced record demand, with a call every seven seconds and a total of over 1.9 million calls across August.
Figures show staff carried out 1.1 million elective procedures in August, up by a third compared to the same period last year.
The same month saw 23,000 COVID patients admitted to hospital – 14 times as many compared to August last year.
Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director, said: "There is no doubt the NHS is running hot, with the highest ever number of patients seen in A&E in September, 14-times as many COVID patients in hospital compared to the same month last year and a record 999 ambulance calls."
He added it is "really important people do not delay seeking help from the NHS if they feel unwell".
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1h ago
10:33
Fancy a holiday in the Pacific nation of Palau?
A tiny Pacific nation has the world's highest percentage of people vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Red Cross.
Fully 99% of Palau's population over 12 has had both shots of vaccine for the new coronavirus, according to government figures. This amounts to 16,152 people.
That puts Palau, an archipelago of 500 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, in the "top spot" of vaccinated nations, said the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC).
If you fancy getting there, the UK Foreign Office has dropped its advice against all but essential travel - but the islands have a very stiff PCR testing regime.
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1h ago
10:16
Flights back to 56% of 2019 levels, figures show
According to data from Eurocontrol, the seven-day average number of UK daily flights was 3,563 in the week ending 10 October.
This is 56% of the level seen in the equivalent week of 2019.
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1h ago
10:10
What the papers say
The changes being made to GP access make the front page of the Daily Mail today, which calls the shake-up a "face-to-face revolution".
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror features a picture of Prime Minister Boris Johnson painting during his holiday to Spain, saying it has sparked "fury" from bereaved families of COVID victims.
For the rest of today's national newspapers, you can click the link below.
Thursday's national newspaper front pages
Sky News
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1h ago
09:58
NHS England says 9,754 people were waiting more than two years to start routine hospital treatment at the end of August 2021
Figures show this is up from 7,980 at the end of July, and is more than three times the 2,722 people who were waiting longer than two years in April.
Hospitals have been told by NHS England to eliminate all waits of more than two years by March 2022.
The data also shows 210,931 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in England in August. This is up 24% from the 170,036 reported in August last year.
The equivalent figure pre-pandemic for August 2019 was 200,317.
And urgent referrals where breast cancer symptoms were present, though not initially suspected, were up from 9,486 in August 2020 to 11,179 in August 2021.
Meanwhile, 232,140 people were admitted for routine treatment in hospitals in England in August 2021, up 49% from a year earlier (155,789).
However, this reflects lower-than-usual figures for August 2020, which were affected by the first wave of the pandemic.
The equivalent figure for before the pandemic, in August 2019, was 275,267.
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1h ago
09:47
Record high for the number of people waiting to start routine hospital treatment in England
NHS England figures show 5.7 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment at the end of August this year.
The number is the highest since records began in August 2007.
The data shows the number of people having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment stood at 292,138 in August 2021.
Although this is down slightly from 293,102 in the previous month, it is more than double the number waiting a year earlier, in August 2020, which was 111,026.
The figures also show there were nearly 370,000 patients who had been waiting more than six weeks for a key diagnostic test in August in England.
NHS England said 369,086 patients were waiting for one of 15 standard tests, including an MRI scan, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopy.
Back in August 2020, the equivalent number waiting for more than six weeks was 472,517, while in August 2019 there were 42,926.
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2h ago
09:41
Technology to produce Sputnik V jab to be given to Hungary
Hungary will receive technology this year to produce Russia's Sputnik V COVID jab at a factory which is currently being built.
It would be the first concrete step towards making the vaccine in the European Union, which has not yet approved the jab as it is still being reviewed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Medicines Agency.
China's Sinopharm vaccine is also due to be produced in the $193m (£140m) site in Hungary.
Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said: "There is a huge demand for the Russian vaccine around the world, thus Hungary has an economic interest in taking part in the production."
The announcement comes after Hungary's daily COVID cases went above 1,000 for the first time during the fourth wave of the pandemic, with 1,141 new infections.
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2h ago
09:20
Lateral flow tests may be more than 90% effective at detecting people at their most infectious, study finds
Scientists say they may know why some lateral flows are coming back negative before people receive positive PCR test results.
This is because it may mean someone is not at "peak transmissible stage" as lateral flow tests (LFTs) pick up when someone is at their most infectious, they claim.
They argued the tests are actually more accurate than previously thought and can't be compared directly to how PCRs work as they work in a different way.
A study in Clinical Epidemiology found the lateral flows are likely more than 80% effective at detecting any level of infection, and likely more than 90% effective at detecting those who are most infectious.
The experts say lateral flows detect material from the surface proteins of the virus and are very likely to give a positive result when someone is infectious.
Whereas PCR tests detect the genetic material which can be present for weeks after someone's no longer infectious.
Professor Michael Mina, from the Harvard School of Public Health, said: "There is a spectrum of infectious amounts of the COVID-19 virus and we show that LFTs are likely to detect cases 90-95% of the time when people are at their most infectious.
"The tests could achieve even 100% sensitivity when viral loads are at their peak and therefore catch nearly everyone who is currently a serious risk to public health.
"It is most likely that if someone's LFT is negative but their PCR is positive then this is because they are not at peak transmissible stage."
Professor Irene Petersen, from University College London's Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, added: "Previous studies comparing the reliability of lateral flow tests and PCR tests could be potentially misleading because a PCR test is a marker of having been infected at some point within a certain window of time and does not necessarily mean someone is infectious when testing positive."
They concluded the tests are a reliable public health tool in curbing coronavirus from spreading.