Spain Does Not Recommend Coronavirus Tests from China. They Detect Only 30% of Infected Cases

Tests from the same manufacturer were delivered to Ukraine.

Microbiology experts in Spain have reported low effectiveness of rapid tests for detecting the coronavirus, which are produced in China. This is reported by Business Insider.

Studies have shown that the sensitivity of these tests is only 30%, meaning they identify people with the virus in only 30% of cases. At the same time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that rapid tests should have a sensitivity of no less than 80%.

Spanish media report that the studies prompted the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology to officially recommend not using these tests. Medical workers must now use other tests, which take longer to produce results.

Fernando Simón, director of Spain's Coordination Center for Health Emergencies, said that Spain tested 9,000 tests and found that their results were not accurate enough, so it was decided to return them to the manufacturer.

It is reported that the tests were made by the Chinese company Bioeasy. Ukraine is one of the countries that also purchased these tests, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko. On March 10, he posted on Facebook that 1,200 rapid coronavirus tests had been delivered to the capital. Attached to Klitschko's post was an image of test packages showing the manufacturer, Bioeasy.

However, the Chinese embassy in Spain said that the medical aid China provided to other countries did not include Bioeasy products. It is noted that China's Ministry of Commerce provided Spain with a list of manufacturers that did not include Bioeasy, adding that the company had not received a license from China's National Medical Products Administration to sell products.

As of March 27, Spain had 57,786 people infected with COVID-19, 4,365 deaths and 7,015 recovered.