Hungarian university is developing saliva-based ‘less invasive’ COVID-19 tests

With the involvement of active COVID-19 patients and in collaboration with researchers from other universities, Semmelweis University in Budapest is currently conducting analyses to develop an efficient new form of testing method to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

As Index writes, the current method of collecting specimen from the nose and throat “causes discomfort” to many, which is one of the reasons people decide not to take the test.

But researchers at the Semmelweis University in Budapest are currently working on a new form of testing that in many aspects could be a better alternative to this “invasive” form of testing. Researchers at the Department of Oral Biology have been analysing studies and the results of clinical trials to prove that saliva-based testing is just as efficient as the current method, nose and throat swapping.

The analysis at Semmelweis University is conducted in collaboration with the universities of Pécs, Szeged, and Manchester; their latest results have been recently published in renowned paper Frontiers in Medicine.

According to their study, “saliva-based testing is a promising alternative that could simplify and accelerate COVID-19 diagnosis”.