In Reunion, if the Covid, flu and bronchiolitis viruses are stable, no one is safe from falling ill. To declutter emergencies and medical offices, a self-test is now available in certain pharmacies in Reunion. A single test for identical symptoms, allowing you to know if you are sick or not, if you have Covid, the flu or bronchiolitis and adapt the treatment accordingly with the doctor (Photo www.imazpress.com)
Runny nose, fever, cough, fatigue… these symptoms are known to everyone. But identifying the reason and which virus is hitting us is not easy. Covid, flu, bronchiolitis, difficult to tell the difference.
This is why the AAZ laboratory, whose general director was in Reunion last week, developed a triple detection self-test.
– Covid, flu, bronchiolitis… –
As with a classic self-test that everyone in Reunion now knows well since Covid, all you have to do is insert the object into the nostril.
Unlike the Covid self-test, “it is not a bottle brush but an object that looks like an injector pen with a small sponge at the end,” explains Boubker El-Beghdadi, president of the Regional Union of Health Professionals (URPS) of Pharmacists of Reunion and Mayotte.
Simply push the tip 1 centimeter in for 15 seconds and immerse the pen in a liquid to find out if we are positive or not.
The three diseases detected are RSV (one of the bronchiolitis viruses), the flu or Covid.
The results appear on three different colored strips. Each color (blue for Covid, green for flu, orange for bronchiolitis) corresponding to one of the three viruses. If two red bands are displayed, it means a positive result, a single band means it is negative.
– A self-test available in Reunion –
Available in Reunion since last week, this self-test is not yet sold in all pharmacies.
In Reunion, several pharmacies have received information about this self-test but have not yet made it available to customers.
“We distributed purchase orders to the two wholesalers Soredip and Pharmac who have sufficient stock,” indicates Boubker El-Beghdadi.
In a pharmacy in the north of the island, the information is also passed on but the product will not be sold. “For us it is not interesting because this test detects RSV for bronchiolitis and it is not the only virus which can cause bronchiolitis,” indicates the pharmacy.
In addition, “there are 25% false negatives for RSV, this is not reliable enough”.
The AAZ group test is sold individually for between 12 and 15 euros depending on the pharmacy and, for the moment, it is not reimbursed by Social Security.
– A self-test 90% effective –
According to the manufacturer, the efficiency of the self-test is approximately 90%.
A self-test which, even if it is not 100% reliable, reduces diagnostic uncertainty and makes it possible to reduce the prescription of antibiotics when there is no need for them.
Read also – Faced with “small” viruses and bacteria, medications can make you (even) sicker
For its part, the HAS, the High Authority of Health, published on its website a report which responds to a referral from the General Directorate of Health (DGS).
Dated December 1, 2022, the DGS asked the HAS to decide on the medical interest of “All in triplex” and to use rapid diagnostic orientation tests, called TROD, to search in a city context for the main viruses responsible for acute respiratory infections likely to co-circulate in an epidemic manner.
The HAS sets out two conditions in its report: diagnostic performance studies conforming to methodological specifications must therefore be carried out; the population impact of these TRODs must also be reinforced.
– Preventive actions to prevent viruses –
Covid, flu, bronchiolitis, apart from this test, the best way to avoid getting sick is to follow preventive measures.
The increase in cases of bronchiolitis is usually observed in Reunion during the hot and humid season. This year, it arrived earlier. From September 23 to 29, 2024, 47 babies were treated in the emergency room.
Read also – Bronchiolitis: increase in cases in Reunion, 47 babies treated in emergency
ARS La Réunion raises awareness among parents and those close to children: to protect babies, simple actions can limit the transmission of the virus and preventive treatments exist, including a new vaccine for the future mother since September 2024.
In addition to vaccination, other preventive measures exist against the flu. The first of these is to adopt barrier gestures to limit the transmission of the virus:
• Wash your hands regularly or use a hydro-alcoholic solution,
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue,
• Blow your nose into a single-use tissue then throw it away,
• Avoid touching your face,
• Respect a distance of at least one meter from others,
• Greet without shaking hands and no longer hug,
• Additionally, wear a mask when you have symptoms.
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Health, Test, Flu, Covid, Bronchiolitis
