PUTRAJAYA: The Rapid Test Kit (RTK) Antibody serology testing for Covid-19 using blood samples from finger pricks cannot be used for confirmation tests, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.
This is because the presence of antibodies cannot confirm active infection while negative antibody results cannot guarantee that the individual being tested is not infected with Covid-19, he pointed out.
However, RTK Antibody tests can be used for conducting studies on the prevalence of infection in a community or among target groups like workers in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO), he said.
“For now, there is no solid evidence from scientific studies to show that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,” he added.
As such, he stressed, detection of the virus would be based on antigens, that is through the Real Time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) or RTK Antigen tests.
Both these tests require the taking of nasopharyngeal (NPS) swabs by trained personnel using suitable personal protective equipment and laboratory equipment like Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC) when processing the collected sample, he added.
At today’s Covid-19 briefing, Dr Noor Hisham said the new daily cases have remained at two digits with 70 reported today, bringing the cumulative figure to 6,726.
Another 88 cases have recovered and were discharged today, raising the total number of recoveries to 5,113, or 76% of the cumulative figure for cases.
“Thirty-one of the 70 new cases are foreigners. The 70 comprise 13 imported cases and 57 local transmissions.
“Therefore, the number of active cases with infectivity is 1,504,” he added.
Dr Noor Hisham said 20 cases are still being treated in the Intensive Care Units (ICU), with seven requiring ventilator support.
One fatality was reported today, bringing the death toll to 109, or 1.62% of the total number of cases.
“The 109th death was of a 63-year-old Malaysian man with a history of diabetes and liver cancer. He was admitted to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital on May 8 and died at 5.15 am on May 10,” he added. – May 11, 2020, Bernama
