The Briefing Room

General Category => Health/Education => Topic started by: goodwithagun on February 14, 2018, 05:27:18 pm

Title: You may have the flu even if you don’t test positive for it
Post by: goodwithagun on February 14, 2018, 05:27:18 pm

By Joe Dzienmainowicz January 16, 2018

The flu can be deadly — and deceptive. Rapid flu tests used in clinics and doctors’ offices can show that patients don’t have the flu when they actually do.

These false negatives aren’t uncommon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that rapid influenza testing has a sensitivity ranging from approximately 50% to 70%. That means that in up to half of influenza cases, the flu swab results will be negative.

Continued here http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/flu-don-test-positive-article-1.3760093 (http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/flu-don-test-positive-article-1.3760093)

Title: Re: You may have the flu even if you don’t test positive for it
Post by: goodwithagun on February 14, 2018, 05:29:07 pm

I found this searching for false neg stats, now that I’m feeling almost human again. I had a negative flu swab yesterday although I have all of the common adult flu symptoms. They won’t retest even though I reminded them that I work in a building with 725 fifth through eighth graders.