By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

AN ultra-rapid COVID gargle test, which eliminates the need for swabbing and lab processing, could be introduced to the public in a month’s time, according to a local medical and surgical equipment supplier.

The revolutionary gargle and spit test, which was developed by Israel’s Ministry of Defence, the Sheba Medical Centre and Virusight Diagnostics, examines a person’s saliva through a small spectrometer device to determine whether they have contracted the virus.

Essentially, patients rinse their mouth with a saline oral rinse solution before spitting into a small container. The SpectraLIT device is then used to shine a light on the solution and analyse the reaction to see if it is consistent with the COVID-19 virus.

According to Kerzner Health Care, the solution can update future mutations through firmware and improves artificial intelligence modules over time.

In August of last year, the COVID-19 oral rinse module underwent a clinical trial pilot that produced results of over 95 percent accuracy. Robert Dupuch-Carron, former deputy chairman of the Public Hospitals Authority, said he believes such technology could provide The Bahamas with a transformational leap in testing capacity.

As a result, he said he assembled a working group who recommended the initiative be undertaken as a private sector project in consultation with the government and national lab.

The gargle and spit testing project is currently being spearheaded by Bahamas Medical & Surgical Supplies Ltd (BMSS) and Kerzner Medical Group—two organisations that have agreed to fund the costs of a beta trial.

To date, 1,000 tests have arrived in the country. Margo Barnett, the director of BMSS, said they are currently trying to organise the validation and trial process.

She said once that is done, the facilitators will be able to have the tests and the actual devices placed throughout the country.

“We’re in the process of validation and trial,” she said. “Because it’s artificial intelligence, we need to validate it for our population. So that means that we have to test it on negative and positive patients to ensure the validity of the test before we put it out into the general public. And so that’s the process that we’re in now.”

Adam Darville, one of the partners of Kerzner Medical Group, also told The Tribune they plan to use 300 patients during the trial phase to calibrate the machine. He said of this number, 150 persons that participate in the trial would have had to test negative for the virus, while the other half would have had to test positive.

When asked if he could calculate how long it would take before the spit and gargle testing would be available to the public, Mr Darville said he would estimate “a month’s time” before a mass roll out.

Mrs Barnett agreed with that estimation. Yesterday she told this newspaper that she also thought the one-month estimation was “pretty reasonable” given the circumstances.

She also said many Bahamians may prefer the gargle method of testing over the current nasal examination.

“If you’ve ever had a nasal test you would know that nobody wants to do that,” she said. “In addition to that, the fact that it’s compatible to a PCR (test) and you get the results in 30 seconds (makes) it a no brainer.

“The devices are non-invasive, it is just a gargle and spit so you put the substance into the device and it reads whether you are positive or negative in 30 seconds. It’s a small device that can be placed in restaurants, hotels anywhere people need to validate people coming in and out and it’s cheap.”

Mr Darville said the tests would “bring a lot of peace of mind” to people as it may allow more businesses to resume operations.

“The thing about it is that it has the accuracy of a PCR test which is comforting,” he explained. “Secondly, the gargle and spit means there is nothing going up your nose, scratching your throat. It’s like gargling with Listerine, it’s very fast and it’s going to be relatively inexpensive.”

If successful, the data collected from the saliva testing will eventually be integrated into Virusight’s or the World Economic forum ePassport App.

The World Economic Forum and the Commons Project launched the CommonPass programme to “satisfy country entry requirements, while protecting health data privacy”.

The project is a global platform that allows people to document their COVID-19 status as it relates to health declarations, PCR testing and vaccinations.

Last year, several international airlines including JetBlue, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic began the rollout of a CommonPass pilot project to passengers from New York, Boston, London and Hong Kong. This was a part of their ongoing efforts to help build confidence in air travel and tourism; two industries that were grossly affected by the pandemic.