New York, June 12, 2021 (IANS): The addition of a simple processing step to saliva samples before testing may improve Covid-19 detection rate, eliminate the challenges of nasopharyngeal testing and facilitate mass surveillance, researchers say. The researchers, including Ravindra Kolhe from Augusta University in the US, found that an innovative protocol that processes saliva samples with a bead mill homogeniser before real-time PCR (RT-PCR) testing results in higher sensitivity compared to NPS samples. “Saliva as a sample type for Covid-19 testing was a game-changer in our fight against the pandemic. It helped us with increased compliance from the population for testing along with decreased exposure risk to the healthcare workers during the collection process,” said lead investigator Kolhe.