New in pharmacy. “All in treplex”, a triple self-test, is sold in French pharmacies from this Wednesday. It allows you to test yourself against the Covid-19 viruses, the flu, but also bronchiolitis.
How does it work?
The test, marketed by the French group AAZ, is less unpleasant than the self-test for Covid-19 because it is inserted less deeply. It’s a small sponge attached to the end of a tube to be inserted into the nose for “a few seconds”, according to AAZ. The tip is then immersed in a narrow container. We can finally discover the presence of a possible virus since three strips of different colors correspond respectively to Covid, flu and bronchiolitis. If the self-test is negative,
“With the same sample, we will be able to detect the presence of three viruses, which does not require antibiotic therapy,” explains pharmacist Daniel Machover to BFMTV.
Is it reliable?
What about the reliability of this “All in treplex”? This type of test is “obviously a plus, to successfully shed light on the origin of the disease”, declares the president of the Union of Community Pharmacists’ Unions, Pierre-Olivier Variot, at Parisian.
The manufacturer of the test ensures reliability close to 100%: 100% specificity – 100% chance of being negative if the person tested has not been infected – and almost 90% sensitivity – 90% chance of giving a positive result if the person tested carries a virus.
For its part, the High Health Authority (HAS) is more cautious. After carrying out two studies in hospitals in Monaco, Orléans and Bondy, she noted “sensitivity levels significantly lower than those displayed on the instructions”. She specifies that another study is in preparation to evaluate the usefulness and effectiveness of these combined tests.
Sold at 10 euros and not refunded
Still, “all the wholesalers” have received 15,000 doses, tells Le Parisien Fabien Larue, the boss of the AAZ group, who hopes to sell many more this winter. Some pharmacies even fear being in high demand as soon as the triple self-test goes on sale. “It will be up to us to explain and provide information, because people rarely know that it is possible to have these three diseases. They mainly think of Covid or the flu,” explains Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France, to our colleagues.
AAZ recommends that pharmacies sell the self-test for around 10 euros, even if they remain free to set the selling price they want. Like self-tests for Covid-19, “All in treplex” is not reimbursed by Health Insurance.
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