Days before resuming strict quarantine, the detection policy of the
new coronavirus
promoted by the Government is again under the magnifying glass. Although the number of tests increased fivefold
PCR diagnostic
-the most reliable- in the last 45 days, Argentina is together with Bolivia the country that
menos tests
performed for every million inhabitants in South America, according to data from the Ministries of Health of nine countries in the region that surveyed
LN Data.
Since the health crisis began, Argentina made, on average, 6,138 tests for every million inhabitants. It shares the last position in number of tests together with Bolivia and was very far from other countries in the region.
Chile,
a case several times cited by the Government as a negative example, made almost ten times more tests than Argentina. Brazil and Colombia also double the amount of Argentine PCR.
Testing has progressively increased across the country since May, but the most dramatic change occurred after June 10, when the definition of a suspected coronavirus case was expanded by eliminating fever as a necessary symptom to be tested. The Ministry of Health then expanded the Detect plan, a policy praised by experts that consists of going out to look for the new coronavirus in the neighborhoods: swapping, isolating the positives and tracking down their cohabitants or people in close contact.
Using Detectar, the PCR tests were multiplied until reaching the peak of 8300 tests in a single day, which was recorded on Friday. But despite the acceleration of the tests, the difference compared to other South American countries, such as Colombia and Paraguay – highlighted by their health strategy -, far from shrinking, was enlarged, according to official data from those countries.
“Without a doubt, we are testing much more than before, but it would have been useful to test even more. The Detect plan, which is really excellent, should have been implemented sooner. The Detect plan must be maintained in a permanent and sustained way, and even expanding it. to go find more foci, “said the renowned infectious disease
Eduardo López,
that integrates the
expert committee
that advises the Government.
Own
Ginés González García,
Minister of Health, had already advanced this self-criticism a few days ago, when he was consulted during a virtual meeting of the
Argentine Network of Scientific Journalism.
“Maybe we focus a lot on the inputs and neglect to organize the tracking. What happens is that at the beginning there was no evidence of community circulation. Maybe it should have started a little earlier,” the minister said two weeks ago.
“Testing in Argentina is much more intelligent than in other countries because we know where to go to look for the virus with Detect. You cannot always test everything we want because it requires a very expensive system, a lot of coordination and that includes from caring for doctors to patient management while waiting for the result. Obviously, it would not be against further testing, as long as we maintain this quality, “he explained
Omar Sued,
holder of the Argentine Society of Infectology.
One hundred days of quarantine in Argentina
01:46
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“You do not have to look only at the testing data. No one doubts that Argentina manages the health crisis better than Brazil, Peru and Chile, but looks at mortality rates. You can put a tent in front of a supermarket to test like in the United States. But if these people keep walking after the tests, as in Chile, it doesn’t make much sense, “added the infectologist, who also advises the government.
Indeed, the mortality rate of coronavirus in Argentina is the lowest in the region among the countries with the largest population. Argentina recorded 27 deaths for every million inhabitants, while Chile – the country that tests the most – accumulates 285. There is also a difference with Brazil, which doubles Argentina in PCR tests, but adds 268 deaths per million inhabitants.
No massive testing
But, could Argentina do massive tests like other countries in the region do? The stock of PCR tests in the hands of the Ministry of Health was until yesterday was
266,170 units,
as reported by sources of that dependency to the nation. During the last days, Argentina registers about 8000 daily tests, although those tests also include tests carried out by private clinics and provincial hospitals, which administer their own PCR kits. “Today is not a critical input,” clarified from Salud.
In the absence of a vaccine for the coronavirus, the World Health Organization recommends two solutions: quarantine and rapid tests to then detect and isolate, thus avoiding infections. “Quarantine was applied at the appropriate time because there were many cases in Europe, because there were no diagnostic kits [PCR] worldwide and because a team needed to be organized to deal with the pandemic, “said the infectious disease specialist López.
Beyond the debate on the number of tests, there were delays in the last few days in the results of these diagnoses for patients with
Covid-19,
what increases the possibilities of contagion without the correct isolation. As published by the nation, more than half of those admitted to intensive care receive a positive result for coronavirus one or two days after being hospitalized, according to data from the Integrated Health Information System of Argentina.
ALSO
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