There's a Breathalyzer for SARS-CoV-2 Now

 

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Everybody has now come around to the idea that COVID-19 is mainly caused by airborne virus particles. So instead of reaming our sinuses or making us spit in a tube, why can't they detect it directly in breath?

Now they can. The FDA recently approved a breathalyzer for SARS-CoV-2. It uses 

gas chromatography gas mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) to separate and identify chemical mixtures and rapidly detect five Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in exhaled breath.

The results are available in three minutes.

The test seems to be pretty accurate too. According to the FDA release, it correctly detects 91.2% of cases where people are known to be infected (via normal PCR tests). Better yet, it correctly identifies 99.3% of cases where people are known to be negative for infection. 

Unfortunately the units are a little bigger than the alcohol breathalyzers the cope use. They are more like the size of a suitcase. 

They also need to be used by qualified, trained operators who are authorized to prescribe diagnostic tests. So you can mainly expect to find them in physicians' offices, clinics, hospitals, mobile testing centers, and the like.

 

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