Microbiologist Hermann Goossens warns against a rapid test at low temperatures: ‘Watch out for false positives’ | Corona virus what you need to know

Professor Jossens from the University of Antwerp says on Twitter that this is a known problem. start this year Five reporters had already witnessed something similar, when they wanted to report on the first vaccines given at the De Wyngaert residential care center in Rottselaer. The five reporters were tested outdoors, not at room temperature. Everyone turned out a little positive, because the second line was a little visible. But later, our five colleagues tested negative with a more reliable PCR test. Until then, it turned out that the ambient temperature may have played an important role in the rapid tests, as indicated on the package leaflet, which states a temperature between 15 and 26 degrees.

Microbiologist Hermann Goossens confirmed again today on Twitter that the ambient temperature can indeed affect the result of subjective tests. He wrote that he celebrated Christmas with his children and grandchildren yesterday, but the guests were first tested outside, at 8°C, before entering the house. “Absence: Everyone is a weak positive,” Goossens tweeted. But the professor smelled of danger. “Everyone was retested at room temperature: everything negative. Beware of false positives in winter. Known problem,” warns Goossens.

In fact, it is not a new problem. “There is nothing wrong with the tests, in fact it is just the stupidity of the people who did them,” virologist Marc van Ranst said nearly a year ago about the rapid tests at low outside temperatures in Rottselaer.