For a very short time now, Austrian customers have been able to buy PCR tests from the biotechnology company Novogenia, based in Salzburg, online from DM, in order to take a saliva sample which is then examined for the presence of the coronavirus. So if someone is positive after testing and sending in the saliva sample, this means that the person concerned must immediately go into quarantine after the analysis result is announced (after one to three days) by e-mail and inform the public health department. The test material can be purchased via the online portal of the German drugstore group dm. However, the tests are currently sold out because the demand was huge. The PCR test, which is part of the standard diagnostics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is also very expensive; it costs more than 100 euros per saliva test. It uses a chemical reaction, the so-called polymerase chain reaction, to detect whether genetic material of the coronavirus is present in the sample from the mouth or throat. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is only moderately enthusiastic about the test results because the error rate in self-testing is too high. Incorrect handling of the samples, such as improper transport, which should also take place as cool as possible, casts doubt on the results of the test. A negative result also represents only a snapshot and therefore has little significance. In addition, two samples taken in parallel from the upper and lower airways would always have to be analysed to obtain a clear result. The RKI also does not think much of unspecific testing with people who show no or almost no symptoms, so that this self-test would probably not be offered by German Dorgeriemarkt chains, because previously in Austria only people from medical and educational professional groups were tested, or people with symptoms of Covid-19 respiratory disease. Even pharmacies in Germany are not allowed to sell rapid antibody tests to laypersons; this is prohibited by the Medical Devices Levy Ordinance (MPAV).
Source: pharmazeutische-Zeitung.de