Covid-19 : Why infected persons test negative and, later positive

The Coronavirus is hardly detected at an early stage. It has an incubation period of 14 days during which no symptoms may be noticed, Health officials  say. 

Cameroonians have questioned why the two confirmed cases tested negative , and were later confirmed to have contracted the virus.

But Cameroon is not the only country where this has happened. Countless people in China’s Hubei province tested negative before being pronounced as confirmed cases.

As the situation persisted, the efficacy of laboratory tests in China and other countries was put to question. China turned to identifying patients by symptoms.

Why this happens

According to medical personnel, the virus has an incubation period of 14 days. It is only after this period that symptoms show up.

Public Health Minister, Dr. Manaouda Malachie has had to respond to this concern severally. On March 8, during by the News Magazine program ” Scene de Presses” , he attributed this to the evolving nature of human health.

“It is a scientific preoccupation. You very well know someone’s health status evolves. So when this French national arrived in Cameroon, he had no symptoms. We could not detect he had contracted the virus . His state evolved after his entry into Cameroon. At the time of his arrival, he was well screened , filled the forms but his temperature could not give us a clue about his health”.

He further explains that the devices used to screen passengers at the airport primary indicate if the body temperature is above 38 degree Celsius.

“In all airports and borders, screening is systematically done . We have two levels of screening at airports. When you disembark the plane, you are screened twice. The First is using a Thermoflash and the second is with a Thermal Camera to confirm your body temperature “.

The Centers for Disease Control-CDC equally holds the same argument.

” Using the CDC diagnostic test, a negative result means that the virus was not found in the person’s sample. In the early stage of the infection, it is possible the virus will not be detected. For Covid-19, a negative test result means that a person has symptoms meaning the Covid-19 virus is not causing current illness”.

Who gets the blame?

After the two confirmed cases were reported, many have moved from questioning  to concluding that the laboratory results are not accurate.

They have attributed  the failed laboratory results to the lack of appropriate laboratory equipments .

Another group said the equipments used for screening passengers  in Cameroon are obsolete.

For another group of persons, unqualified health personnel are to blame .

But  arguements from health personnel point to the nature of the virus,  which can only be detected after the 14-days incubation period .

Kathy Neba Sina

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