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Irina Efremova\/Stocksy<\/p>\n <\/span> \nMore than 500,000 at-home COVID-19 tests are being recalled due to possible bacterial contamination in the tests\u2019 liquid solution, the Food and Drug Administration announced last week.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThe affected tests are the SD Biosensor, Inc., Pilot COVID-19 At-Home Tests, distributed by Roche Diagnostics. The agency urged anyone who bought any test with an affected lot number, listed on the FDA\u2019s announcement, to stop using them and throw them out immediately.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThe possibly-contaminated COVID tests were distributed primarily to CVS, but some were also distributed to Amazon. It\u2019s not yet clear how many of these recalled tests were actually purchased by consumers, and the FDA has not yet received any reports of \u201cinjuries, adverse health consequences, or death\u201d associated with the at-home tests.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nAlthough the tests were found to be contaminated, the possibility of getting a bacterial infection after using one of these tests is quite low, explained William Schaffner, MD, professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The more likely issue is that the contaminated tests may not function properly.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201c[These bacteria] are not supposed to be in this liquid, and they might somehow foul up the results of the test. And that would not be a good thing. Either you\u2019ve got a false positive or a false negative test,\u201d Dr. Schaffner told Health<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n \nHere\u2019s what to know about the recalled tests, and what to do if you have any at home.\n<\/p>\n What the End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Means for Testing and Treatment Costs<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nIt\u2019s not entirely clear how the at-home tests became contaminated, but Dr. Schaffner speculates that there was some sort of issue in the manufacturing process of these tests.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cSD Biosensor Inc., the manufacturer of the Pilot COVID-19 At-Home Test, informed Roche that this issue was identified during routine quality assurance testing,\u201d a spokesperson for Roche, the distributor of the affected tests, told Health<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n \nThe FDA said that the liquid in some of these tests was found to contain organisms such as Enterococcus<\/em>, Enterobacter<\/em>, Klebsiella,<\/em> and Serratia<\/em>, which are all fairly common bacteria.<\/span> These specific types are found in the intestinal tract of humans and other animals.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIt\u2019s not as though any of these bugs, in and of themselves, are very aggressive pathogens,\u201d Dr. Schaffner said. \u201cThese are not the sorts of infections that really are acquired very often in the community.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nHowever, in some cases, different strains of these bacteria can cause problems such as urinary tract infections or hospital-related infections.<\/span><\/span> Some can also be an indicator of fecal-contaminated water.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nIn that case, an infection from any of these bacteria can be a concern, especially for people who are immunocompromised. A local infection could spread from a cut to the rest of the body, for example, Dr. Schaffner said.\n<\/p>\n \nStill, he added, getting an infection from using these tests is not impossible, but is probably unlikely since people aren\u2019t supposed to be coming into contact with the liquid in a COVID test anyways.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cYou\u2019d have to mishandle the test in some way,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you got it on your skin, if you had cracks in your skin or cuts or something like that, perhaps one or more of these bacteria could find entrance and give you a local infection.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThe likelier concern is the fact that this bacterial contamination may affect the tests\u2019 ability to detect COVID accurately, though it\u2019s not quite clear yet just how that happens or if the contaminated liquid was more likely to provide false negative or positive results.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIf these bugs can multiply, they can change the chemical composition of the solution that they\u2019re in, and therefore that solution may not work exactly the way it\u2019s supposed to,\u201d Dr. Schaffner added.\n<\/p>\n The 7 Best At-Home COVID-19 Tests of 2023, Tested and Reviewed<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nThe FDA, as well as SD Biosensor and Roche, is urging people to check the lot numbers on their Pilot At-Home COVID Tests to make sure that their products are not among those recalled. They\u2019re also encouraging everyone to throw away any possibly-contaminated tests. The liquid should not be poured down the sink\u2014throwing the entire kit out in the trash is preferred.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nIf a person has used one of these recalled tests in the past, it\u2019s best to be on the lookout for any possible signs of infection, just to be safe. A fever, red eyes, or any other \u201cconcerning symptoms\u201d might indicate that someone needs medical attention.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nAnd if the at-home test was used less than two weeks ago, the FDA recommends retesting since those results may have been inaccurate. If it\u2019s been longer than two weeks, there\u2019s no need.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nPeople can also request a replacement test from Roche, as well as report any suspected issues from using the tests.<\/span><\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThe FDA is currently reviewing the recall of these Pilot At-Home tests, and will clarify the specific recall risk in the future.<\/span> In the meantime, Roche has asked all retailers and distributors of the affected tests to \u201cquarantine\u201d them as the FDA continues to investigate, the company spokesperson told Health<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n \nWhen it comes to general advice about at-home COVID tests, it\u2019s always important to pay attention to expiration dates and other safety information about the products a person is using. It\u2019s also incredibly important to wash hands before and after using a COVID test, Dr. Schaffner added.\n<\/p>\n \nAnd it\u2019s always good advice, he said, to use the tests as directed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The FDA is warning consumers not to use certain lots of recalled SD Biosensor, Inc., Pilot COVID-19 At-Home Tests. SD Biosensor, Inc., initiated a recall of more than 500,000 at-home COVID tests due to a bacterial risk. Contact with the contaminated liquid may pose safety concerns, and the contamination could also impact the accuracy of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[897,410],"tags":[898,116],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17185"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Greater Risk of Inaccuracy Than Illness\u00a0 <\/span> <\/h2>\n
How to Use Tests Safely <\/span> <\/h2>\n