Coronavirus: anal tests in China annoy visitors

BEIJING (Reuters) .- The foreign visitors were upset with anal smear tests what China is doing about Covid-19, which has caused complaints, psychological trauma and fueled the debate on its necessity.

Some cities, such as the capital Beijing, Shanghai and the port city of Qingdao, require checks, in addition to nasal or throat swab tests, for some international arrivals, according to state media.

What are anal swabs?

The Chinese Center for Disease Control says the test is done with a sterile cotton swab, which it is inserted 3 to 5 cm into the anus before being turned slightly outward.

Why anal swabs?

These tests can ensure that infections are identified, such as traces of coronavirus can be detected in the anus longer than in the respiratory tract, some Chinese doctors told state media.

But a positive result does not necessarily mean that the person tested can spread the virus, as inactive traces that cannot replicate or infect others can also be positive, he told the agency. Reuters Jin Dongyan, professor of virology at the University of Hong Kong.

Only foreigners?

Earlier this week, Tokyo complained about tests carried out on some Japanese travelers to China, saying they had caused “great psychological pain”.

South Korean visitors now they can send stool samples instead of being “taken directly by the Chinese authorities”, Choi Young-Sam, spokesperson for South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday.

Last month, the American media Vice quoted a State Department official as saying that American diplomats had been subjected to the tests. A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that to his knowledge, such tests were not required of US diplomats in China.

In a statement sent today to the international agency, ministry said China’s virus prevention and control measures are science-based.

Anal sampling tests are not restricted to foreign visitors. During the last major round of infections in China in January, some cities performed them on unspecified segments of the local population.

Only in China?

Travelers who flying to Shanghai must undergo a full battery of tests, including anal swabs if more than five people on your plane test positive for the virus, state media reported, citing a local CDC staff member.

The travelers from areas where the virus is endemic or those who test positive they must also undergo these tests upon arrival, according to the staff member.

While anal swabs are not mandatory for all international arrivals to China, a staff member from the Daxing District Epidemic Control Department in Beijing told the Global Times, a state-controlled newspaper, that international visitors to Beijing were subjected to such tests.

“If people are not familiar with the procedure for having an anal sample test, our employees will help explain how it will be done,” he said.

Anal swab testing for the virus is not unique to China. Galicia, in northwestern Spain, has performed them on some hospital patients, some newborns and those with psychiatric illnesses who were unable to administer nasal swabs, he told the ‘agency. Reuters your health service.

What does the WHO say?

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends testing airway samples, if possible, to diagnose respiratory disease because they give the best evidence, spokesman Christian Lindmeier said in an email to the international agency.

“Fecal samples may offer another test material, especially in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms.He said, but they are “less likely than respiratory samples to test positive in the first week of symptoms. “

THE NATION

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