The kits will greatly reduce time between influenza testing and treatment, experts say.
Home influenza testing will be available for the first time in Australia with the TGA’s approval of two combined covid and influenza self-test kits.
The nasal test kits will be similar to the widely used covid rapid antigen tests, but have an extra line that indicates the influenza A and B result.
Rapid testing was hugely advantageous, said Immunisation Coalition CEO Kim Sampson.
“PCR testing is the ultimate as we have more confidence in the accuracy, but the tests that the TGA has approved appear to meet a minimum performance criteria,” he told TMR.
Home testing should not replace PCR, but it was a very useful tool, he said. “Notwithstanding the possibility of false negatives, a positive result provides the user very useful information.”
Mr Sampson said home-test kits would greatly reduce the time between testing and treatment.
“If you can test quickly and get a result quickly, then you can treat quickly. If the RAT says you’ve got influenza, you contact your GP immediately, and the GP is likely going to put you on antivirals straight away.
“They will then probably require a PCR to confirm it, but at least the treatment would have started. With influenza, antiviral treatment is a pretty safe option and there are minimal side effects.
“And with flu if you’re going to start with antiviral treatment, you’ve got to get in really quickly.
“One of the problems at the moment is people wait until they think they’ve got flu. They make an appointment, their GP does a swab, the swab goes off to pathology and a day later or maybe longer they’ve tested positive for flu. Then they’ve got to get the script for the antivirals. So they’ve lost time.”
Mr Sampson said it was not yet known what the tests’ levels of false negatives and false positive would be. “That will have some bearing on things, but nevertheless, it’s a step in the right direction.”
One of the hurdles to getting accurate numbers on influenza was only having figures of laboratory confirmed cases, he said.
“If it’s a requirement to report the flu as well, because it is a reportable disease, then we might see a more accurate number of flu cases recorded, which would be really helpful.”
As many people did not see their GP about flu-like symptoms, home influenza testing may not change the number of people who present to GP clinics, “but the proof will be in the pudding”, he said.
According to a spokeswoman from the RACGP, the kits could be used by healthcare providers as part of their triage process when seeing patients with respiratory illness, but it would be up to individual healthcare organisations to determine if and how they may use these tests.
RACGP President Adjunct Professor Karen Price said the tests would enable patients to manage their symptoms appropriately.
“We encourage patients who are concerned about their respiratory symptoms to book an appointment with their GP, particularly those at risk of more severe outcomes from respiratory disease,” Professor Price said.
“It’s up to each individual practice to decide how they can safely provide care to people with respiratory symptoms. Some are set up to see patients with respiratory symptoms, and they may ask patients to provide a negative covid-19 test, such as this self-test.
“There are also practices that prefer to see patients with respiratory symptoms via telehealth, and this is perfectly acceptable in an ongoing pandemic.”
The TGA said in a statement that the tests underwent independent laboratory verification testing by the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the National Reference Serology Laboratory.
The tests are likely to be made available at pharmacies, online and in supermarkets, the TGA said.
The two tests are the TouchBio SARS-CoV-2 & FLU A/B Antigen Combo Test (Nasal) and the Fanttest covid-19 / Influenza A&B Antigen Test Kit.
