Thought Nasal Swabs Were Bad? China Rolls Out Anal Swab Testing For Covid-19

• China has began using anal swab testing for individuals who are highly at risk of contracting the coronavirus.
• The new testing procedure is said to be more effective because it can “increase the detection rate of infected people.”
• As a doctor pointed out, the virus stays longer in the “digestive tract or excrement” than in the respiratory tract.

China has recently started using anal swab tests for detecting Covid-19. According to reports, anal swab tests are now being done for some high-risk individuals in the country. And while people are quite uncomfortable about the new process, doctors are claiming that this method is actually far more effective compared with others.

You’an Hospital senior doctor and infectious disease specialist Li Tongzeng explained that anal swabs can “increase the detection rate of infected people” since virus traces stay longer in the anus.

Apparently, anal swabbing is more effective than other testing procedures

Li further added:

“In some asymptomatic cases or in individuals with mild symptoms, they tend to recover from the illness very quickly. It’s possible that there will be no trace of the virus in their throat after three to five days.

“What we’ve found is that in some infected patients, the coronavirus survives for a longer period of time in their digestive tract or excrement than in their respiratory tract.”

Would you prefer this over nose swabs?

So far, residents in Beijing neighborhoods with Covid-19 cases plus individuals in quarantine facilities have undergone anal swab testing.

Sample collection is performed by inserting the swab about 1.2 to 2 inches into the rectum and then rotated several times before being removed and placed in a sample container.

Li was also quick to point out that while anal swabs bring better results, it probably won’t be the standard practice for everyone.

“Of course, anal swabs aren’t as convenient as throat swabs, so they’re only being used on individuals in key quarantine areas,” he said. ”This will reduce the return of false positives.”