I think someone said on another thread that lab tests take 48-72 hours?
Hope that person jumps in here.
Dr. Brantly’s first test was negative. They still kept him quarantined. His 72 hr. test was positive. It can take up to 72 hrs. to get enough virus for the test to detect.
Prior to Dr. Brantly, I heard several cases reported in West Africa where people tested negative, were sent home, got worse, came back to the hospital and tested positive. They were symptomatic and contagious during that time span.
Part of the reason for infection spreading more than it should have, if they had been quarantined instead of going back out into the community.
Hopefully they have told the guy to self-quarantine and continue to monitor his symptoms.
The PCR test is the most accurate and requires a few hours to run AFAIK. However, the time to get the specimen to the lab certified to run it and the actual times the lab runs the test all feed into how long it takes to get any given result back.