US authorities allow rapid tests for flu and corona
A rapid test has been approved in the USA that can also detect influenza in addition to corona – and is as reliable as a PCR test.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization for a rapid test that can simultaneously detect the coronavirus and the two flu viruses, influenza A and B. The authority announced this in a press release.
The test is the first of its kind to be freely available. With the “Lucira COVID-19 & Flu Home Test” from the Californian company Lucira Health, you can determine within half an hour whether you have been infected with the corona or flu virus.
Combi-Test can reliably detect flu and corona viruses
Even if the single-use test is handled in the same way as a conventional antigen test, the results are comparable to those of a professional PCR test. The test by the drug authority attested to the high reliability of the test.
The test detected 99.3 percent of negative and 90.1 percent of positive influenza A samples, 100 percent of negative and 88.3 percent of positive Covid-19 samples and 99.9 percent of negative influenza B samples determine correctly.
Since the influenza B virus is hardly circulating in the current flu season, it was not possible to determine the number of correct positive results. However, laboratory tests showed that the test also had a high level of reliability here.
The manufacturer of the test filed for bankruptcy a few days ago
Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said the approval was “an important milestone toward increasing consumer access to diagnostic tests that can be performed entirely at home.”
It is still unclear when the test will be available in the US, because the manufacturer filed for bankruptcy a few days ago. As Lucira Health itself announced, this is mainly due to the fact that the demand for corona tests fell in 2022 – and the FDA approval process took longer than expected. The company is now looking for investors.
