State health officials find false positives in COVID-19 test results
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HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) — The state’s Department of Public Health reported a flaw in one of its COVID-19 testing systems that caused false positive results.
The flaw, which was reported to both the test manufacturer and the Food and Drug Administration, led to 90 of 144 people tested between June 15 and July 17 to receive a false positive coronavirus test report.
The DPH said it took immediate steps to make sure the patients were notified.
The errant testing results were from a widely-used laboratory testing platform that the state laboratory started using on June 15.
The exact cause of the false positive results is still being investigated.
“We have notified the healthcare facilities for everyone who received a false positive test result from our state laboratory,” said acting DPH commissioner Deidre S. Gifford. “Accurate and timely testing for the novel coronavirus is one of the pillars supporting effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the quick action of our team at the state lab, adjustments have already been made to ensure the accuracy of future test results from this platform.”
The false positive test results were discovered by DPH laboratory scientists during an examination of previously positive samples to determine the feasibility of testing “pooled” specimens at the state lab,” the DPH reported.
The DPH state public health lab said it relies on the testing platform, but to ensure accuracy moving forward, all positive results will be further analyzed by multiple laboratory scientists, and if indicated, retested using another method.
Many of the patients who received the false positives were nursing home residents. The DPH said those people would be retested as soon as possible.
The overall COVID-19 case numbers for Connecticut will be adjusted downward as a result of these false positive tests, provided that re-testing still shows the impacted individuals to be negative. Connecticut’s count of total positive cases will only be adjusted down for the number of people of these 90 who had received a false positive result and later tests negative. If someone previously received a positive result before receiving the false positive result, that person would still be considered a positive case.
A total of 161 lab specimens from 144 individuals showed positive results for COVID-19 using the platform during the period of June 15 to July 17. Of those, a total of 91 specimens from 90 people showed false positive results.
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