One of the most talked about events during the pandemic period was how reliable the Covid-19 tests were. Although most scientists say that we should trust the Covid-19 tests, it is a fact that these tests can give false results.
On the other hand, Professor of Chemistry Mark Lorch from the University of Hull in the United Kingdom said that some children may fail their Covid-19 tests and produce positive results “to avoid school”.
How do lateral tests work?
In his article on the news site The Conversation, Lorch proved that lateral tests, the most common type of test, can be misled by drinks such as cola and juice. Lateral flow tests are performed by placing swab samples from the mouth and nose into a tube with a special liquid. The liquid in this tube is then dripped onto a device similar to a pregnancy test. If the result is a double bar, it means positive, if a single bar comes out, it means negative.
This tester contains Covid-19 antibodies. The device, which interacts with the virus in the liquid dripped into the device, detects whether the test takers carry the virus. The reason why these tests are so widely used is that the test gives results in 30 minutes and is easy to use.
Students fail the tests
Mark Lorch dropped a few drops of cola and orange juice into the test kit to test the claims about the falsehood of the tests, and got a positive result as a result. Lorch stated that this method is another trick that children find to avoid school. Wanting to find out what caused this situation, Lorch continued his research.
The most plausible explanation, according to the chemistry professor, was that the acids in these drinks activate the antibodies. “Maintaining the ideal pH level for antibodies is key to testing,” Lorch said in the statement. Trying to find a solution to this misleading situation, Lorch stated that the real result came out when he washed the test with solution and added: “Guys, I appreciate your creativity, but now I have exposed your trick. I suggest you use your cunning to design a series of experiments and test my hypothesis. ”
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