Anal swab tests to detect coronavirus are already being carried out in parts of Spain after being tested successfully in China. Galicia is the first region that has decided to adopt them, as reported by the Ministry of Health.
At the moment, these tests are only being used on more serious patients in Galicia, but this method is spreading globally as a result of the good results China is obtaining.
The Chinese authorities began to use the anal test to detect people infected with coronavirus, as apparently it is proving to be more accurate than taking samples through the nose or throat, but at the moment these are just hypotheses.
Dr. Li Togzeng, from You'an Hospital, located in Beijing, explained that "the coronavirus can survive longer in the anus and in excrements", which would allow it to be detected with greater precision than through the digestive or respiratory tract. This type of test is already being carried out in different quarantine controls in the capital of China, as well as in some schools.
"Mass testing began after the capital suffered a partial confinement in the districts of Daxing and Shunyi, and since the most infectious British variant was detected, the city is on red alert."
Dr. Togzeng added that, “In fact, more than 1,200 people had to undergo nasal, serological and anal tests in a school attended by a student infected with this most contagious variant.”
ABC News have reported that, “according to the people who have had the rectal test, it is no more pleasant than the nasal swab”. Maybe if you are the type of person who doesn’t wear a mask all the time or properly... you may want to!
