While many of those who have undergone the Covid test have had complaints of discomfort from tampons in the nose and mouth, China is using another less pleasant type of tampon.
It has begun using anal swabs to test those it considers to be at high risk of infection with Covid-19, state television CCTV reported.
An expert from the Chinese hospital told local media that the virus survives longer in the anus or stool than samples taken from the throat and nose.
"We found that some asymptomatic patients tend to recover quickly. It is possible to have no trace of the virus in the throat after three to five days. But the virus lasts longer from samples taken from the digestive tract and the patient's stool, compared to those taken from the respiratory tract. "If we perform analgesic tampons for nucleic acid testing, this would increase patient detection rates and reduce the likelihood of confusing the diagnosis."
CCTV said anal swabs would not be used as much as other methods, as the technique was not "appropriate".
