Covid 19 Antibody Test

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Covid-19 antibody test not to be used to evaluate immunity, says doctors

Concept :

There are two types of tests that can determine if one has developed antibodies against a virus: a laboratory test, requiring a healthcare professional to take a blood sample from the patient, which is sent to a lab for results; or a rapid point-of-care test, which uses finger-prick blood and can be taken at home.

Antibody Test/Serological Test

Antibody tests only detect antibodies the immune system develops in response to the virus, not the virus.
Anti-bodies can show up between 9-28 days after the infection has set in.
Antibodies are proteins that help fight infections & can provide protection against getting that disease again.
Antibodies are disease-specific. For example, measles antibodies will protect you from getting measles if you are exposed to it again, but they won’t protect you from getting mumps if you are exposed to mumps.
Serology tests are crucial for the management & surveillance of the disease.
These tests offer insight into the virus’s incidence, including symptomatic or asymptomatic infections.

Validity of the antibodies

Some of the antibodies are short term & some are long term.
IgM (Immunoglobulin M) antibodies develop early on in an infection whereas IgG (Immunoglobulin G) antibodies against SARS CoV-2 are mostly found after someone has recovered from the infection.
Antibodies may be detected in our blood for several weeks after we recover from COVID-19.
Although these antibodies might provide some immunity to the COVID-19 virus, there’s currently not enough evidence to know how long these antibodies last.