Types of Tests Available to Detect COVID-19

Types of Tests Available to Detect COVID-19

COVID-19 is a disease caused by a virus that shows the symptoms of cough, fever, and difficulty breathing. In most cases, COVID-19 symptoms resemble the flu too much that some patients simply visit a family clinic in Lanham, Maryland for treatment.

If what you have is just flu, first aid treatment at home should be enough. However, if you think that you’ve got the virus, there are two different types of tests that you can undergo, which are:

  • Antibody Tests
    Otherwise known as a serology test, this type of test checks for existing antibodies in your system in response to the virus. The antibodies your immune system makes can help fight the infection. To take a sample for the antibody test, a health care professional or your primary care provider in Maryland may take a blood sample to send for testing.
  • Diagnostic Tests
    The diagnostic tests, otherwise known as RT-PCR tests or viral tests, take nasopharyngeal samples or saliva samples to test for the presence of COVID-19 virus in the body. Much like how a nurse needs medication training to be qualified to handle medications, only those who have trained for this particular test should take samples from you.

Of course, there are many other alternative tests developed aside from these minor ones. If you have questions about them, Patient Centered Health Care is here to enlighten you. Kindly give us a call for further discussion.

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