NEWARK, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- Researchers at Rutgers University government clearance for the first saliva test to help diagnose COVID-19 the university revealed Monday.
This new approach that could help expand testing options and reduce risks of infection for health care workers.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the test under its emergency powers to quickly clear new tests and therapies to fight the outbreak and will initially be available through hospitals and clinics affiliated with the school.
Currently, screening for coronavirus requires health care workers to take a swab from a patient's nose or throat.
Masks and gloves are discarded after close contact with anyone who may have the virus, in order to lessen infection risks, and many institutions are seeing shortages of basic medical supplies, including gloves, masks and swabs.
Patients are handed a plastic tube to spit into several times with the new saliva-based test.
The tube is then handed back to the health care worker for laboratory processing.
"This prevents health care professionals from having to actually be in the face of somebody that is symptomatic,'' said Andrew Brooks, who directs the Rutgers lab that developed the test.Rutgers tested the accuracy of its method by taking both saliva and swab samples from 60 patients.
The results from patients' saliva samples had a 100% match with results from the swabs.
The Rutgers lab can currently process 10,000 patient samples per day, according to Brooks.
The FDA told Rutgers in its authorization letter that the test should only be performed "in a health care setting under the supervision of a trained health care provider.''
Additionally, the FDA said patients who test negative with the saliva-based kit should have their results confirmed with a second testing method.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
