The American health authority has just approved a serological test, used to search for antibodies in the body, which is 99.8% reliable.
- Serological tests allow the search for antibodies showing the degree of immunity after a viral infection
- In the United States, the FDA has just authorized the marketing of a test whose reliability is approaching 100%
This is one of the challenges of deconfinement. Serological tests, which show whether a person has developed antibodies after a first infection with SARS-CoV-2, initially showed insufficient reliability. The FDA, the American health authority, has just approved the marketing of a test whose reliability is close to 100% with a result of 99.8%. Developed by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, the antibody test makes it possible to know if a person has been infected with Covid-19 when there are many asymptomatic cases.
Testing people is “crucial”
This test should be available this month, according to the pharmaceutical company Roche. The latter intends to drastically increase its production capacities since they should more than double. Currently, it is capable of producing around 50 million tests per month but should exceed 100 million by the end of the year. It is carried out by taking blood intravenously to determine the presence of antibodies, including immunoglobulin G (IgG), which remains in the human body longer.
Called “Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2”, the serological test detects 100% of people who have been exposed to the disease and 99.8% of people who have not been exposed to it. However, it is currently impossible to say that a person who has developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 is immune to future infection. “Since this virus is not well known, we can only make assumptions, but providing proof will take more time.supports Thomas Schinecker, the director of the diagnostics department of Roche, to Reuters. Testing people will be crucial to see whether or not they have developed real immunity.”
Tests soon available in France
In France, the Institut Pasteur has developed a serological test which will soon be available. This one will be “capable of specifying the degree of immunity of patients cured of the coronavirus”. According to the High Authority for Health (HAS)these tests are useful, according to her, to confirm a diagnosis, or “when there are no symptoms (…) for the staff of health establishments or collective accommodation” such as nursing homes, prisons, barracks, university residences. They thus come in addition to virological tests, which are those which establish the diagnosis of an infection or not.
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