TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and even the Indonesian Ministry of Health have implemented unnecessary people PCR test evaluation of the healing of Covid-19, especially in conditions of mild or asymptomatic symptoms for those who are self-isolating. This rule has been in place since June 2020.
Spesialis penyakit dalam dan penggiat edukasi Covid-19, dr. RA Adaninggar, melalui laman Instagram menjelaskan pedoman tersebut digunakan setelah banyak penelitian. Pada awal-awal pandemi Covid-19, untuk mendiagnosis apakah orang terinfeksi virus corona atau tidak menggunakan PCR, juga untuk evaluasi kesembuhan harus menggunakan PCR dua kali dan hasil tes harus negatif.
Ternyata, secara logistik PCR tidak efektif dan tidak efisien untuk evaluasi kesembuhan. Dan negara lain turut merasakan hal yang sama.
“Dulu awal-awal, waktu saya merawat pasien, ada yang sampai empat bulan di rumah sakit karena PCR-nya masih positif terus. Akhirnya dilakukan penelitian, apakah memang yang positif ini virusnya masih hidup,” kata Ning.
Research results consistently show that more than 10 days, this virus has begun to destroy because of the presence of antibodies. Antibodies are formed in about 7-14 days so that after the presence of antibodies the virus becomes inactive, will self-destruct by the antibodies, and finally no longer infectious because it is no longer alive.
“It’s just that the weakness of PCR is that it can detect genetic material, where this genetic material cannot be distinguished whether it comes from a virus that is still intact or that has been damaged, for example,” explained Ning.
After the research, people with positive results were cultured in a medium that could breed the virus. After 10 days, 90 percent of the virus had not grown and 10 percent were still there. This 10 percent is estimated in people who are still symptomatic.
Ning said if you still have symptoms, it means that the virus has not completely disappeared and the infected person has not fully recovered. With this research, finally changes were made to the guidelines and people who have recovered from Covid-19 no need for re-PCR. However, most importantly according to Ning, the recovered person has passed isolation for at least 10 days and the symptoms must have disappeared for at least the last three days.
“And this positive PCR can indeed last up to three months because the virus carcass is still attached and can still be read, because reportedly this virus has a stronger attachment,” he said.
He also added that if it were dead, the virus would not be able to cause disease in other people. Then, to find out whether the virus in the body is dead, it can only be determined by a doctor.
“This means that later this patient will have to go to the doctor for control and then have his condition checked. Sometimes we also carry out additional examinations such as X-rays, then laboratory tests, where we see whether the infection parameters have improved, the inflammation or inflammation parameters have improved. If everything is normal, the patient’s condition is also normal, the body is fit again, the appetite is good, he has recovered, “he said.
Also read: Prevent Covid-19 Transmission in the Elderly by Wearing a Mask at Home
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