ArticleJournal of clinical epidemiology2022
SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests provide benefits for epidemic control - observations from Austrian schools.
Article in Journal of clinical epidemiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Communicating the Imperfect Diagnostic Accuracy of COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Self-Tests: An Online Randomized Experiment.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2024Trial
- Sniffer dogs performance is stable over time in detecting COVID-19 positive samples and agrees with the rapid antigen test in the field.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- A framework for the development and validation of an aptamer-based assay for pathogen detection using SARS-CoV-2 as a model.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Ticks and tick-borne diseases: A call for comprehensive tick surveillance in India under One Health approach.The Indian journal of medical research · 2026Review
- COVID-19 RT-qPCR-based screening in Austrian schools and incidences in the general population: a Bayesian spatiotemporal analysis.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Children and adolescents' experiences of mandatory SARS-CoV-2 testing in schools: a cross-sectional survey.BMJ paediatrics open · 2024Article
- At-home testing for respiratory viruses: a minireview of the current landscape.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2024Review
- Influence of Seasonality and Public-Health Interventions on the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern Europe.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- The latest advancements in Sosuga virus (SOSV) research.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Review
- Accuracy of Rapid Antigen Screening Tests for SARS-CoV-2 Infection at Correctional Facilities in Korea: March - May 2022.Infection & chemotherapy · 2023Article
- Ten rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 widely differ in their ability to detect Omicron-BA.4 and -BA.5.Medical microbiology and immunology · 2023Article
- Diagnostic accuracy of Panbio™ rapid antigen test for SARS-CoV-2 in paediatric population.BMC pediatrics · 2023Article
- Policy responses to COVID-19 in Sri Lanka and the consideration of Indigenous Peoples.Environmental science & policy · 2023Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Control Measures in the Emergency Department: The Role of Rapid Antigenic Testing in Asymptomatic Subjects.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Nanomaterials to combat SARS-CoV-2: Strategies to prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2022Review
- Laboratory and field evaluation of the STANDARD Q and Panbio™ SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid test in Namibia using nasopharyngeal samples.PloS one · 2022Article
- Comparative analyses of eighteen rapid antigen tests and RT-PCR for COVID-19 quarantine and surveillance-based isolation.Communications medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis paper motivates and justifies the use of antigen tests for epidemic control as distinct from a diagnostic test. STUDY DESIGN AND
settingWe discuss the relative advantages of antigen and PCR tests, summarizing evidence from both the literature as well as Austrian schools, which conducted frequent, mass rapid antigen testing during the spring of 2021. While our report on testing predates Delta, we have updated the review with recent data on viral loads in breakthrough infections and more information about testing efficacy, especially in children.
resultsRapid antigen tests detect proteins at the surface of virus particles, identifying the disease during its infectious phase. In contrast, PCR tests detect viral genomes: they can thus diagnose COVID-19 before the infectious phase but also react to remnants of the virus genome, even weeks after live virus ceases to be detectable in the respiratory tract. Furthermore, the logistics for administering the tests are different. Large-scale rapid antigen testing in Austrian schools showed low false-positive rates along with an approximately 10% lower effective reproduction number in the tested cohort.
conclusionUsing antigen tests at least 2-3 times per week could become a powerful tool to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.