While the WHO now urges to massively test the population against Covid-19, the screening strategy will evolve in the coming months. Saturday March 28, during a press conference, Olivier Véran hammered it: “France will increase its capacity to screening tests in the next weeks”, not only nasal tests (detection of the virus by PCR in the event of symptoms), which will become faster, but also the blood tests (antibody detection), to find out who is immune (or not).
For the latter, the government did not give details on their distribution (who will be tested? How? …). What we know is that his goal is to be able to measure the collective immunity of the population “in order to be ready for the period of release from confinement”.
The Breton company NG Biotech, whose production platform is French, has experience in the production of rapid tests. She claims to have developed a blood test capable ofidentify in 15 minutes, from a drop of blood on the fingertip, antibodies produced by the body following infection with the SARS6-CoV-2 virus. In an interview at West France, she says she hopes to commercialize it on a large scale. Its development director, Dr Alain Calvo, specifies that the test has been evaluated by hospitals as well as by the Institut Pasteur. “In a few weeks, we were able to put in place the feasibility of a test in the hands of emergency responders. From now on, this test is marketable, validated and widely disseminated in communication with the scientific community.” He also claims to be negotiating with the ministry, “in particular to fix the price.”
SARS-CoV-2 rapid blood test: how does it work?
Blood serological tests detect the presence of antibodies in the blood. Antibodies are cells that appear once you have been infected. As they have already encountered the virus for the first time, they are “educated” and therefore able to destroy the virus if they encounter it a second time. We then say that we are immune. This is the reason why, therefore, one cannot be infected twice. In addition, you can have antibodies without having been sick: asymptomatic cases, even if they do not show symptoms of the coronavirus, produce antibodies.
Towards a large-scale deployment of blood tests?
For now, we do not know how these tests will be disseminated. The scientific council should soon specify the priority targets: nursing homes? The most contaminated areas? Nursing staff? … Will the tests be deployed in laboratories? What is certain is that they would make it possible to draw up an inventory of global immunity in France. But for that, the production must follow …
Sources:
- Opening remarks by the WHO Director-General at the press briefing on COVID-19 – March 27, 2020
- Government press conference, Saturday March 28, 2020.
- Coronavirus. A Breton company is developing an “ultra-rapid” test for the detection of Covid-19, Ouest France, March 31, 2020.
