UK students use orange juice to fake positive COVID-19 results

Students have found that applying orange juice to rapid COVID tests can lead to a false “positive” result. This type of test, lateral flow tests, is very popular in the UK as the government sent two per month to every citizen to encourage regular screening of the population.

The phenomenon – which was verified by an experiment conducted by The Guardian – is not due to the juice containing the virus. Very good seems to be related to your heartburn, which essentially breaks the test. The effect seems to have been seen with other foods and drinks as well, such as ketchup and Coca-Cola.

A UK science teacher said his students showed them the effect of orange juice. “They say it’s a great way to get a two week vacation from school,” she revealed.

Professor Andrea Sella, of University College London, said the find was not surprising. “If someone deliberately disrupts the protocol, of course they will get the wrong result. But I would add that this is not a “false positive” in the true sense of the word. Because false positives are those that occur despite compliance with the protocol ”.

The “trick” also appeared on TikTok, with videos of people trying different liquids. According to Journal i, more than 6.5 million videos have been uploaded to the social media platform under the search term #fakecovidtest.

Jon Deeks, professor of biostatistics at the University of Birmingham, criticized the practice. “False positives not only affect this child, but his family and his bubble at school, so [es algo] quite selfish. There are less harmful ways to fake a day off school, ”he said in dialogue with The Guardian.

In the review Conversation, Mark Lorch, professor of science communication and chemistry at the University of Hull, says it is possible to detect a “false” positive by washing it with a buffer solution that restores the correct pH of the device. After this process, the “positive” line of a mock test disappears, revealing the negative result.

The British newspaper warns that the lie won’t last long anyway. This is because while falsifying tests can be a cause for concern, especially since all members of a family should immediately self-isolate if the test gives a positive result, Anyone who tests positive should then undergo a more accurate PCR test to confirm an infection.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of Principals of Schools and Colleges, said: “Misuse of lateral flow tests in any way is extremely unnecessary and we strongly advise against this behavior. We are sure that this is a very small minority of students and that for the most part the tests are being used correctly. “Sin embargo, instamos a los padres a que se aseguren de que no se hace un mal uso de las pruebas, y sugerimos a los alumnos que estén interesados ​​en las reacciones químicas que el mejor lugar para aprender sobre ellas es en las clases de química from school.

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