How many people have actually been infected with the new coronavirus? How many of them are immune? To find out, several studies on serology tests have been launched in recent days in the United States.
This is particularly the case of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which have carried out serology tests in the host cities most active in the epidemic. The purpose of this test is to look for specific antibodies in a person's blood, to see if they have ever encountered the coronavirus, even without knowing it. When the immune system encounters a virus, it stores its memory in the form of antibodies, often for life.
Almost no symptoms in most cases
The CDC director said that a quarter may be people infected with the coronavirus had no symptoms. Separately, Jay Bhattacharya, professor of medicine at Stanford, California, said he collected blood samples from 2,500 volunteers in Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley) on Saturday, chosen to be representative of the county's population, as well as over 500 of their children.
A few drops of blood were taken by a quick prick on a finger. "We will publish the prevalence figure as soon as humanly possible," says Jay Bhattacharya.
Objective: break out of confinement
Also in California, researchers from the University of Southern California are planning a study in the coming days in Los Angeles on 1,250 volunteers representative of the city's population. "The results are expected to be released by April 15," said study leader Professor Neeraj Sood.
The objective of many governments is to generalize these tests in order to determine who can break out of the confinement to which half of humanity is today subjected. But all antibody tests are not equal and do not tell whether the person, while having encountered the virus, has enough antibodies to be protected against future infection.
Society
Coronavirus: Olivier Véran does not want to “bet on the health of the French” with chloroquine treatment
Politics
Coronavirus: In the Assembly, the opposition questions the government's "crisis exit" strategy
- epidemic
- Covid 19
- United States
- Coronavirus
- World
- Screening