According to Tomas Bergström, professor of clinical microbiology, the laboratory tests that are available today are very reliable. Anyone who gets a positive result for so-called IgG antibodies has every reason to trust the result.
- Now they are near perfect and cannot get much better, he says.
IgG occurs a week to a little over a month after the onset of infection. A positive result shows that you had covid-19.
- There are many question marks left, but it is likely that when you have gone through the infection you have immunity, says Tomas Bergström.
Good hand hygiene
But anyone who turns out to have antibodies should still be careful and take no excessive risks, according to Tomas Bergström.
- If you have old relatives that you have to take care of, it can be nice to know that you do not risk infecting them. Then it may be justified to test oneself.
Niklas Arnberg believes that those who carry antibodies must continue to have good hand hygiene and follow the recommendations of the Public Health Authority for those who are antibody positive.
- You should keep your distance and avoid taking the elderly in hand or hugging. Even if you can't get sick yourself, you can still carry the infection through your hands, he says.
Accredited laboratory
Today, there are about 25 microbiological laboratories around Sweden that are accredited.
- There you can rely on the results. Then there are many private players with different quick tests where it is difficult to answer how reliable they are, says Tomas Bergström.
Tomas Bergström sees the benefits of people in elderly care and healthcare testing, but sees no reason why the broad masses should test themselves for antibodies. Niklas Arnberg is positive for a more general test.
- For your own sake, if you have had a heavy infection with typical corona symptoms, it can be nice to know if you have gone through the infection or not.
Can increase freedom of movement
The antibody tests can also be valuable for authorities, he says. Through blood donors, researchers see that the proportion of people with antibodies is slowly increasing in Sweden.
- Then you get an idea of how close or far from the herd immunity we are, says Niklas Arnberg
In the longer term, he believes that a positive antibody test can open more doors on the personal plane. The Public Health Authority may be able to make specific recommendations for people with antibodies.
- Some countries may also accept that you enter the country if you have a certificate that you have undergone an infection.