Test results for COVID-19 have different interpretations. The RNA PCR testing is used to test for presence of the virus in the body while the antibody test is used to test for presence of viral proteins (Loeffelholz &Tang, 2020). A person can test negative for the virus and continue to test negative in recurrent tests. Another individual could test negative and test positive in a follow-up tests. According to researchers, an individual could have a positive result following a negative result when tested too early for the virus (Kucirka et al., 2020). In this case, this is a false-negative result which eventually turns positive with continued replication of the virus. Research done using 1330 respiratory swab samples indicated that 38% false negative even if they had the symptoms (Kucirka et al., 2020). This goes to show that a false-negative result is common in covid-19 testing.
CDC also advises that detection of viral RNA does not necessarily mean that the virus is present. Instead, it could mean that the test is picking up pieces of RNA left behind and not fully intact viruses (CDC, 2020). As a result, a positive test after a negative one could mean that the infection is taking time to leave the body. However, according to CDC, the viral articles detected may not be infections.CDC also advises that the type of reagents used could determine the outcome of the results (CDC, 2020). Chemicals used in the testing and the method of sample collection and storage could also lead to a false negative result. Upon retesting using the right procedures and reagents, the patient could test positive if they were truly infected with the virus. However, patients with negative results should not be advised to relax the recommended protective measures. With regard to reinfection, there is still insufficient data to determine the possibility of reinfection after recovery from COVID-19 (Wolfel et al., 2020).
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References
CDC. (2020, June 13). Overview of Testing for SARS-CoV-2. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/testing-overview.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-criteria.html
Kucirka, L. M., Lauer, S. A., Laeyendecker, O., Boon, D., & Lessler, J. (2020). Variation in false-negative rate of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction–based SARS-CoV-2 tests by time since exposure. Annals of Internal Medicine .
Loeffelholz, M. J., & Tang, Y. W. (2020). Laboratory diagnosis of emerging human coronavirus infections - the state of the art. Emerging microbes & infections , 9 (1), 747–756. https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2020.1745095
Wölfel, R., Corman, V. M., Guggemos, W., Seilmaier, M., Zange, S., Müller, M. A., ... & Hoelscher, M. (2020). Virological assessment of hospitalized patients with COVID-2019. Nature , 581 (7809), 465-469.
