Suara.com – There are various scientific terms that are part of the vocabulary of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of which is the ‘CT value’ in the PCR test results to determine whether a patient is positive for Covid-19. For more details, the following is the definition of CT Value Covid-19 complete by reading, and determining severity or not.
Understanding CT Value Covid-19
It is known that CT stands for cycle threshold. CT is the value that appears during the PCR test, the gold standard for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In the PCR assay, RNA is extracted from swabs collected from patients. It is then converted into DNA, which is then amplified.
Amplification refers to the process of making multiple copies of genetic material, i.e. DNA. This makes the ability of the test to detect viruses increases. Amplification occurs through a series of cycles — one copy into two, two into four, and so on — and after several cycles, a detectable amount of virus is produced.
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This Covid-19 CT Value refers to the number of cycles after the virus can be detected. If a higher cycle count is required, this implies that the virus was not detected when the cycle count was lower. The lower the CT value, the higher the viral load — because the virus has been seen after fewer cycles.
How to read
Generally, a person is declared negative if the PCR result has a CT value of more than 40. To know how to read the CT Value Covid19 in detail, here is the explanation:
- A CT value of less than 29 is a strong positive reaction. That means, the possibility of the number of virus particles detected is quite a lot.
- The CT value between 30–37 is a positive reaction. That means, the number of detected virus particles is moderate
- CT value 38-40 is a weak positive reaction. That means, the number of detected virus particles is small
- CT value more than 40 is negative. That means, not a single virus particle has been detected in the body
CT Value Determines Severity or Not?
Experts said that although CT value was inversely correlated with viral load, it had no effect on disease severity. A patient can have a low CT Value, meaning his viral load is high enough to be detected quickly, but he may still be asymptomatic.
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On the other hand, a small study in India found that there was no correlation between CT values and severity of illness or death in patients with Covid-19. It was found that time since the onset of symptoms had a stronger relationship with CT value than with disease severity.
So, if it is concluded, the CT Value of Covid-19 is not a determinant of the severity. This CT value only correlated with infectivity.