The Newman Regional Health microbiology department has been extremely busy since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March.
Part of that is the increased caseload and the research involved with the tests. And part of that is dealing with questions about “empty” or false positives.
On KVOE’s Newsmaker segment Friday, Microbiology Supervisor Emily Forbeck says her department’s role through the pandemic has been in part to package and ship out the early tests until the hospital had a steady supply of tests. After that, her staff was responsible for the validation studies to make sure the hospital could not only collect positive tests but also make sure it didn’t get false positives as part of the process.
Infection Preventionist Ester Knobloch says there are a number of illnesses floating around these days — not just COVID-19. In fact, over half the positive test results are from coronaviruses that are not COVID-19, but that may well reflect what’s called the full respiratory pathogen panel.
Knobloch says the lab will give the doctor a verbal notice of other viruses detected by the test.
Forsbeck says the hospital has had no false positives and the company responsible for the tests has had a 0.2-percent false positive rate since the pandemic began. Over the past eight weeks, only seven percent are positive for any virus — COVID-19 included. Two percent have come back positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The other five percent have tested positive for rhinovirus/enterovirus, metapneumovirus or adenovirus. RSV and parainfluenza have also been noted recently.
And speaking of allergies, patients dealing with sinus issues may be wondering exactly what they may be dealing with this time of year. Physician Assistant Nita Bittle says you can generally figure out which one you may have.
Bittle says it’s good to schedule a visit with your doctor if you’re still not sure. The best way to avert allergy issues is to avoid their sources, but that may not be possible so Bittle suggests over-the-counter medications, nasal steroids or sinus rinses.
