There were, however, of this Scratching in the throat and then a cough and a little fever? Everyone would like to know whether he has been infected with Corona, no matter whether with symptoms or without.

Finally, it is now known that infection does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with COVID-19-specific complaints. In any case, but the viruses are detectable in the blood.

the scientists are assumed to be at least. That would also mean that someone has Corona behind, can not infect again, so is immune, and no other people would be infected.

A sophisticated System

antibodies our immune system to fight pathogens. They can be detected in accordance with by-made disease in the blood. The Patient develops immunity against the pathogen.

in Fact, scientists also use COVID-19. Antibodies could be detected reliably in people who have had the infection and recover, would bring further insights to COVID-19.

Immune or not?

To determine how many people are really infected with the Corona Virus, an antibody test is currently the method of choice. Immune or not? Infectious or not? With these questions has a study from Lubeck, among others.

most of The participants in the study had mild or moderate infections caused by. About one in every fourth patient, the scientists could find no significant anti-body, even though they had proven symptoms.

In contrast, were detected in two of ten patients with detect history of high levels of antibodies. This raises besides the question of immunity, the question of how the dark point can be determined.

How reliable are anti-body tests?

so Far, a period of about four weeks is sufficient to get reliable results of antibody tests. Anti-bodies need a certain amount of time, until you can prove it. How long exactly is it different from Person to Person.

Some shows already after a short period of time antibodies, and others only after several weeks and others seem to have no antibodies to form, although they have proven to COVID-19 sick. It is an opaque Situation.

testing

the study by the University of Lübeck were measured, the scientists, the antibodies in the blood of patients over a period of several weeks. The image that arose in the process seems to be more differentiated than, for example, one-time, large-scale Screening.

But each kind of antibody testing could also lead to dangerous miscalculations, warn, Hannes Blankenfeld, and Michael cook of the German society for General medicine, as well as the President of the German society for epidemiology, Eva Grill, in a statement.

many antibody tests, could be this important statistical findings can be derived. In the case of individual persons, but it can be even dangerous. Then, if the Tests provide incorrect results, and the people who were tested positive for antibodies, believe that they are immune to re-infection and non-infectious are.

Such false positive results can be deceptive and lead a carefree dealing with COVID-19.

study in China

in China, the research on antibody tests on high tours. There, scientists had published in the journal Nature, a study that examined how long a body's own immunity is not effective could be a life-long? Or you will, over time, weaker?

The Chinese researchers studied the Corona-Infected without symptoms and Infected, the symptoms had shown, and compared the two groups to each other. The result: The immune system of people without symptoms had less reacts strongly to the Virus than people with symptoms. They showed a stronger reaction.

Hardly detectable

another result of the study of China: After a period of about three months was the level of antibodies in people who had shown no symptoms, hardly detectable. Whether patients have the disease and perhaps even immune, remains unclear.

The question of immunity is not yet solved. Also, how many antibodies must be detectable in the blood, so a Person can't, and infect others is still a mystery.

author: Gudrun Heise

*The post "Corona: detection of antibodies is difficult," published by Deutsche Welle. Contact with the executives here.

Deutsche Welle

Date Of Update: 22 June 2020, 14:26