What’s the coronavirus test like? Here’s what people who’ve been tested say
As the United States ramps up coronavirus testing, people are wondering just what the test involves. Here are some answers.
How does the test work?
No blood tests or urine samples are involved, but the test requires an invasive nasal swab.
A health worker inserts the swab, kind of like an elongated Q-Tip, up the patient’s nose to reach the nasopharyngeal region, USA Today reports.
“If you were to open your mouth and say ‘Ahh’ and look straight back, that’s the region, right where the respiratory (tract) meets the back of your mouth,’’ said Kirsten Hokeness, an immunology expert at Bryant University in Rhode Island, according to the publication. “The virus likes to latch on there and start replicating.’’
“The goal is to collect material that’s recently been in the lungs, where the virus is believed to replicate,” according to Wired.
What’s it like for the patient?
Not much fun, although if you stay calm and don’t wiggle it’s over in a few seconds, USA Today reports. Health workers may also take throat swabs.
All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz says the nasal swab was “so uncomfortable it left him in tears,” the Associated Press reported. Mitchell tested positive for the virus.
Politico writer Andy Carvin said a nurse shoved a nasal swab “so far up my nose it felt like I had just snorted wasabi.”
President Donald Trump, who tested negative for the virus, had a more difficult time describing the experience, according to a Twitter post by CNN reporter Daniel Dale.
“Not, not uh — something I want to do everyday...you know, it’s a little bit of a — it’s a little bit of — good doctors in the White House, but it’s a test. It’s a test. It’s a medical test. Nothing pleasant about it,” Trump said, according to Dale.
What happens next?
The cells collected on the swabs go to a lab, where workers look for the virus’ genetic material by converting it to DNA and then replicating it millions of times, Science Alert reports.
If genetic material from the COVID-19 virus shows up in the sample, the patient has coronavirus, according to the publication. These tests take 24 to 72 hours.
Scientists also can check for the virus with blood tests, which involve looking for antibodies trying to fight off coronavirus, but those might take up to a week to appear after the patient has been infected, LiveScience reports.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 2:30 PM with the headline "What’s the coronavirus test like? Here’s what people who’ve been tested say."