Significance of antibody testing for a common man

Significance of antibody testing for a common man helps in allaying the fear and anxiety of COVID-19 pandemic. It also helps to differentiate the common cold infection from COVID-19 infection to certain extend.

In India, COVID-19 pandemic has turned several people jobless and many more are working with 50-75% of their salary. So, the economic impact of COVID-19 on a common man has been huge, mainly disruptive. Further, there is this fear factor among’st all-have I got exposed to the deadly virus? Am I immune to the infection? Am I in the asymptomatic phase of the infection? Whether can I go out for work? If I go out for work, am I exposing my family members to the risk of COVID-19 infection? By hearing the news of continuous increase in the rate of COVID-19 infections every day, the major question that arises in the mind of a common man is, are we in the stage of community transmission of the infection? All these questions have caused mental distress too.

Antibody screening to fight against COVID-19 infection:

As per WHO, the community transmission is evidenced by the inability to relate confirmed cases through chains of transmission for a larger number of cases and with increasing number of COVID-19 positive tests, as we are experiencing now. Majority of the positive cases do not have any concreate evidence of how they got infection in the current lock-down situation. For all these questions, antibody screening assays can prove to be a silver lining and will help to develop confidence among the public to fight against COVID-19 infection.

Antibody screening assays for COVID-19 infection are easy to perform and operator friendly. These tests use blood/serum samples. The sample collection for antibody testing is easy, unlike the complication involved with respiratory track fluid samples collection, as shown in the television channels and social media, for the RT-PCR or antigen-based assays. The antibody tests are designed to detect whether people have been previously infected with COVID-19 virus and have developed antibodies to it or not. It helps to differentiate the common cold infection from COVID-19 infection to certain extend, when the testing is done after 5 – 8 days of symptoms onset.

Recent studies also concluded that Anti-SARS-CoV2 antibodies provide some level of protection or immunity from getting the viral infection again. The presence of antibodies especially IgG antibodies in the blood, in a common man without any clinical symptoms, helps in allaying the fear and anxiety especially in health care workers, office employees, front line workers, corona warriors, etc.,as they continue to work or resume back. Antibody test results, if used in conjunction with clinical history, patient’s symptoms along with other diagnostic tests like RT-PCR or antigen tests, may be helpful to establish the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection and enable to provide effective treatment to those infected.

The most common type of antibody tests currently in use are ELISA (enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay) and CLIA (chemiluminescence immunoassay) tests. Both are laboratory-based tests performed in blood samples and measure the antibody levels. While performing the antibody tests, it is very important to understand the specificity of the test. If the antibody test method lacks good specificity, it may provide false results.

Those people with false positive results may increase the risk of getting infection and pave way for continued transmission of infection to others. Ortho Clinical Diagnostics launched VITROS Anti-SARS-CoV2 Total antibody and VITROS Anti-SARS-CoV2 IgG antibody screening assays,based on CLIA method,with 100% clinical specificity and no cross-reactivity with other respiratory track viral infections. These tests are available in most of the clinical laboratories and hospitals in India.

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