INTERVIEW
In his third speech to the French, delivered on Monday April 13, President Emmanuel Macron announced the extension of confinement until Monday May 11, the pivotal date from which schools will be gradually reopened and the use of tests will be generalized. A necessity to test people with symptoms of coronavirus to isolate them. These serological tests differ from those used so far. Europe 1 takes stock.
What is the difference with the other tests?
"We are talking about serological tests which are the immunity tests, and not the PCR tests (carried out using a nasal swab, Editor's note) which determine if you are in the acute phase of the disease", specifies the Doctor Claude Cohen, president of the national union of medical biologists, questioned by Europe 1, Sunday. "Those mentioned by the President of the Republic, test immunity to identify people who have been, or have not been, immunized".
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How many of these tests are available?
"Today, we do not have enough yet, but it is gaining momentum," says the biologist. The latter states that biologists are in contact with the ministry so that it can help them obtain the number of tests they are missing. "We are able, in the private sector, to produce around 50,000 tests per day, and with hospitals we would arrive at 70,000 tests per day," he said.
Regarding massive screening, Dr. Claude Cohen thinks that the country "can go to this level". But he adds that the entire population cannot be tested. "These are tests that require complicated samples," he explains.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> Can France hope for a more favorable scenario than Italy?
> Are women and people with blood type O more resistant?
> Are certain serious forms linked to a genetic factor?
> How will the distribution of masks take place in France?
> Back to school on May 11: under what conditions?
> How to keep sleep during confinement?
Are these tests 100% reliable?
If the biologist explains that many reagents currently exist on the market, "they are not yet used routinely". Indeed, the tests that will be used have not yet been validated by scientific bodies. "We do not yet know which tests will be usable and reliable in terms of sensitivity or in terms of specificities".
"We do not yet have the kinetics (movement, Editor's note) of antibodies," adds Dr. Claude Cohen. "We do not know if they are protective of the disease, and these tests do not make it possible to rule on the contagiousness of the person". In summary, if these tests can already give an idea of a person's immunity, they do not yet measure their contagion potential.
For the president of the national union of medical biologists, these tests could be an important tool for deconfinement, "but for the moment, we are not yet on May 11", he recalls, referring to the work done by here by the scientific services to give answers and determine which are the protective antibodies. "We are working on all the possible obstacles to making these tests a really interesting tool," he adds. "But we have to get there because France is way ahead in terms of test validation."
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