Where to get a RAT?

Been using findarat.com.au and local FB group.

Picked up a low sensitivity nasal one at a city chemist for $20. And recently got some high sensitivity oral one off a local resident who works for the distributor at 4 for $50.

Also seen reports of a lot of people struggling with the Hough tests, that use a tiny battery for UV light. The battery is seemingly not working in some units.

What's the going rate in Ireland @Flashback
 
Been using findarat.com.au and local FB group.

Picked up a low sensitivity nasal one at a city chemist for $20. And recently got some high sensitivity oral one off a local resident who works for the distributor at 4 for $50.

Also seen reports of a lot of people struggling with the Hough tests, that use a tiny battery for UV light. The battery is seemingly not working in some units.

What's the going rate in Ireland @Flashback
Not a heck of a lot. Slightly more if purchased as a single unit, €2.50 perhaps?
IMG_20220108_152213.jpg
 
Wow, that is expensive, both here in Australia and in Germany: I just spent four months in Germany and whilst prices have shot up now, I picked up boxes of 5 tests at 3.29 Euro in late August. My sister-in-law has been testing herself nearly daily, at those prices I guess it is feasible to do so. Demand has sky rocketed in Germany, too, and prices have come up but nowhere near as expensive as here, I was happy to use a cheap RAT for our mandatory tests for overseas arrivals in late December, NSW Health was not interested in seeing our negative results anyway.
 
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It’s probably the best you can get in Aus…. Don’t go flashing that around.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Despite faint positive Abbott RAT, my (well-collected) PCR was negative.
Abbott RAT again faint positive this morning
Abbott specs claim 99.7% specificity and only cross-reacting microbe found to be SARS 😮
Just had another PCR (though this one was less well-collected)
Guessing I'm back to work after all
 
Curiouser and curiouser.
Despite faint positive Abbott RAT, my (well-collected) PCR was negative.
Abbott RAT again faint positive this morning
Abbott specs claim 99.7% specificity and only cross-reacting microbe found to be SARS 😮
Just had another PCR (though this one was less well-collected)
Guessing I'm back to work after all
Hmmm...interesting for a top rated RAT
 
I do wonder when the RATs were rated? Looking at the approval date sin ATAGI tale, many were approved well before Omicron was in circulation, so would appear the RATS were tested using Alpha or Delta.

Perhaps they need to recalibrate the accuracy specifically for Omicron? False positive could also be related to how the test was stored.

Ive done 2 RATS (only High Sensitivity) and one PCR since Omicron was about, all have been negative, so Id like to believe that is accurate.
 
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Interesting from Alphasport

As far as I know the only difference between this "professional version" and the "consumer version" is that the "professional version" has a positive control swab and a negative control swab also supplied with the kits. The test procedure is exactly the same

The positive control swab will give C&T lines
The negative control swab will give C line

All testing whether RATS or any pathology sample testing require pretesting the equipment with controls
So in a batch of 25, 2 will be used for controls.

Need a AHPRA rego number and watch the online tutorial and do a questionaire before they supply.


Screen Shot 2022-01-11 at 7.19.56 pm.png


.................


Perhaps they need to recalibrate the accuracy specifically for Omicron
Maybe, but they (AFAIK) are based on an antibody to the nucloecapsid portion of the virus which seems to be (more or less) stable across the variants.
 
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I do wonder when the RATs were rated? Looking at the approval date sin ATAGI tale, many were approved well before Omicron was in circulation, so would appear the RATS were tested using Alpha or Delta.

Perhaps they need to recalibrate the accuracy specifically for Omicron? False positive could also be related to how the test was stored.

Abbott don't think there is an issue with theirs.

Emerging variants:

 
Curiouser and curiouser.
Despite faint positive Abbott RAT, my (well-collected) PCR was negative.
Abbott RAT again faint positive this morning
Abbott specs claim 99.7% specificity and only cross-reacting microbe found to be SARS 😮
Just had another PCR (though this one was less well-collected)
Guessing I'm back to work after all
I have been having almost daily Panbio swabs for over 3 months. No issues for me, I've always been negative. but there's been a relatively irregular but constant positive on the RAT that's turned negative on PCR.
 
Despite faint positive Abbott RAT, my (well-collected) PCR was negative.
BACK to MED SCHOOL people. Now listen up back there.....

SARS-CoV-2 virus
= beta coronavirus
An enveloped single stranded RNA virus

16 nonstructural proteins
4 structural proteins:
- Spike (S)
- Envelope (E)
- membrane (M)
- nucleocapsid (N)

Screen Shot 2022-01-11 at 8.23.31 pm.png

SARS-CoV-2 = Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 virus (as compared with the SARS-CoV-1)
Causes no symptoms to mild symptoms such as a common cold (common to a lot of Beta coronaviruses)
Also causes Covid 19 = Coronavirus Disease 2019

The virus access host cells through the Angiotensin converter Enzyme receptor (think of it like a locked gate). The key to the receptor/gate is the Spike protein

RT-PCR: Real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.
A technique to amplify certain RNA in the sample
A Diagnostic tool for presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA
Omicron causes a drop out of the S section of the RNA due to the number of mutations in the RNA

RAT: qualitative rapid antigen test
Not a diagnostic tool, rather a screening test

The difference between Screening and Diagnostic tests:
Screen Shot 2022-01-11 at 8.28.26 pm.png

What happens on a RAT test:

There is a membrane strip
Precoated with mouse derived anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (N) antibody at the T line and mouse derived monoclonal anti-chicken IgY at the C line.

some RAT tests use gold colloidal nanoparticles immunochromatography is used to qualitatively determine the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antigens. The gold naopoarticles give the T and C lines its colour because they are concentrated at the T or C line according to whether it binds to the T line or C line antibodies.

Half of the Gold colloidal nanoparticles are coated with monoclonal SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with human IgG specificity
Half of the gold colloidal nanoparticles are coated with monoclonal chicken IgY
- these are called conjugates - they help the binding process.

Drop the specimen into the well
If no human Covid specific IgG, then the fluid will move up the test strip and the only gold nanoparticles that will concentrate at one of the 2 strips will the the chicken IgY ones - causing the C line to light up.

If human IgG is in the specimen then it will bind to the gold nanoparticles with the SARs antibody which will then bind to the SARS antibodies on the T line causing the T line to light up. its setup in such a way that if there are no antibodies in the specimen the gold nanoparticle with SARS-Cov2 will not bind to the antibody on the T line. Whereas the chicken gold antibody will.

As humans don't have anti chicken antibody the C line becomes a control line

If C line does not light up then something is wrong with the test strip and the test is invalid.

Some RATs use UV immunochemistry - these have conjugates which light up with UV light.

In short the RATS and PCR test are used for different purposes, even though the govt thinks they are like for like replacements.

Even though the RAT tests are testing for "antigens" they are really testing for the presence of antibody in the nose or saliva.
Ihe word antigen is that which binds to an antibody - in this case the antibody is on the test strip and the antibody from the nose Plus the conjugate gold become the antigen.

OK lunch break people.
 
I do wonder when the RATs were rated? Looking at the approval date sin ATAGI tale, many were approved well before Omicron was in circulation, so would appear the RATS were tested using Alpha or Delta.

Perhaps they need to recalibrate the accuracy specifically for Omicron? False positive could also be related to how the test was stored.

Ive done 2 RATS (only High Sensitivity) and one PCR since Omicron was about, all have been negative, so Id like to believe that is accurate.

TGA are apparently doing a post market review locally but some of the bigger more reliable manufacturers have already in other countries affirmed they can detect Omicron, and the TGA know this…
 
Chemist Warehouse on Bourke/King had some stock of 2 packs as of about 5 minutes ago if anyone in Melbourne CBD is after any and wants to try their luck. Fair chance other CW's in the area have them too I suppose. Rightsign brand (high sensitivity)
 
BACK to MED SCHOOL people. Now listen up back there…

What happens on a RAT test:


There is a membrane strip
Precoated with mouse derived anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (N) antibody at the T line and mouse derived monoclonal anti-chicken IgY at the C line
So it should be called a mouse, not a RAT then 😆😆😆
 
Third RAT positive
Two PCRs now negative
Mrsandye getting negative tests with same kit
Think I must be an idiosyncracy-will explore with clever colleagues
Five positive RATS on Abbott Panbio now
Negative RAT on Innohep today
3 negative PCRs
No symptoms and 9 days since last contact with anyone symptomatic
No-one (including very clever people) seems to know why
Have to hope Abbott don't corner the market for travel testing in the future
 
Five positive RATS on Abbott Panbio now
Negative RAT on Innohep today
3 negative PCRs
No symptoms and 9 days since last contact with anyone symptomatic
No-one (including very clever people) seems to know why
Have to hope Abbott don't corner the market for travel testing in the future
Assuming you are in NSW, SA or NT, make sure you report those RAT+ :rolleyes:
 

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