# Faulty testing kits. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 6, 2020, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faulty-testing-kits/851169 "2020-04-06T03:49:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faulty-testing-kits/851169/1 "2020-04-06T03:49:23Z")
Very little coverage in the mainstream. A few countries that were using Covid 19 test kits found that they were up to 80% useless. Not sure what countries are using what test kits and methods. But an 80% failure rate can be terrible. Sending infected people back out to infect others. Where were the kits from? China. Where almost everything we use is from. For now, I cannot put much faith in the numbers of tested/infected or not. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faulty-testing-kits/851169/2 "2020-04-06T18:07:08Z")
Cite, please? ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faulty-testing-kits/851169/3 "2020-04-06T18:19:48Z")
[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-01/faulty-virus-tests-cloud-china-s-european-outreach-over-covid-19](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-01/faulty-virus-tests-cloud-china-s-european-outreach-over-covid-19) ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faulty-testing-kits/851169/4 "2020-04-06T23:04:54Z")
[https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2020/03/27/all-650000-rapid-covid-19-test-kits-from-china-useless-must-be-returned-says-spains-health-minister/](https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2020/03/27/all-650000-rapid-covid-19-test-kits-from-china-useless-must-be-returned-says-spains-health-minister/) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faulty-testing-kits/851169/5 "2020-04-07T18:00:27Z")
Thanks, Kedikat. Very definitely problems, yes. Sounds like China’s trying to straighten them out; but also sounds like there may be a lot of useless tests on the market; and buyers really do need to be cautious. From the first cite: > [@](#): > > In Turkey, which imported its first batch of “several thousand” kits in early March, officials determined an accuracy rate of less than 35%, according to a senior official with direct knowledge of the matter. Their use was immediately suspended and new tests sourced from a different Chinese supplier. They arrived last week and had an accuracy rate of about 90%, according to the Turkish official. [. . .] > > China said it’s working to rectify the problems. From Wednesday, exporters of coronavirus test kits, medical masks, protective clothing, ventilators and infrared thermometers must show they’re certified in China and promise their products also meet the quality standards of the importing nation or region, according to a Ministry of Commerce statement. From the second: > [@](#): > > The Spanish government purchased the rapid test kits from Chinese firm Shenzhen Bioeasy Biotechnology, in a bid to start mass testing and get a clearer picture of the extent of the rate of infection rate in the country. However, it recently transpired that this firm doesn’t actually have an ‘official licence’ to sell these tests or any other medical equipment. – I’m also not sure what “90% effective” means. 10% false positives? A significant chunk of people who think they’ve been exposed and now are immune but aren’t. 10% false negatives? A significant chunk of people who think they haven’t been exposed at all, but who have and may be infectious. Or does the “90% effective” include likely errors in both directions? And how does that compare to tests for other illnesses? – in any case, it’s considerably better than the tests which were 35% effective; that’s pretty terrible. And of course most people in the world still haven’t been tested at all.