A British company claims to have developed an instant breath test for Covid-19 which will now undergo trials.
It says the test which could be available early next year could revolutionise control of the virus.
Aptamer Group, based at York Science Park, said it is currently helping to develop a new personalised Covid-19 breath test, called Microtox BT.
A spokesman for the company said: “Following a successful first-round testing of the Microtox BT breath test, the University of Aberdeen will now carry out confirmatory tests, with a planned trial of up to 5,000 people, to check its performance. Results are expected before the end of the year.”
The tests have shown “positive results” and will now undergo full testing at the University of Aberdeen
It is being developed with another company called Integumen.
A spokesman said: “The company believes that to enable the economy to re-open fully, the public is going to have to take the responsibility of testing against this virus, themselves. By providing an instant real-time breath test with a digital reader platform, we can drive a consumer-led duty of care for personal Covid-19 responsibility.”
The same companies also developed a sewer testing system that could provide an early warning system for local outbreaks.
The wastewater detection system, called Microtox PD, detected coronavirus in waste water and sewage before it leaves a property.
It said that more than 60% of Covid positive patients have shown coronavirus in their faecal samples.
And by sampling wastewater from households, it can provide an early warning system for localised outbreaks and control the spread of the disease.
The companies said there are plans for the sewage test to be launched early next year.
