News / Antibody Test

Antibody Test

Private Deva Hospital Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine) Specialist Dr. Murat POLAT made statements about the antibody tests.

Testing to detect who has encountered the new type of coronavirus, which has affected the whole world and turned into a global epidemic in a short time, has become one of the most important elements of slowing the global pandemic. In these days when the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the necessity of diagnostic tests with high reliability, sensitivity and specificity is emphasized in order to determine and direct the appropriate responses to the epidemic.

What is an antibody?

The human body creates antibodies in response to many infections. These antibodies are proteins called immunoglobulins. Antibodies can be found in the blood of people tested after infection and indicate people's immune response to infection.

Antibody tests are IgG, IgA, IgM analysis of immunoglobulins formed in response to infections. Antibody test results are especially important for the detection of infections that have survived with little or no symptoms.

Why is antibody testing important?

Antibody tests are used to determine whether the person has been infected before and is immune to the virus, or to detect patients who can carry the virus without realizing it and cause it to spread. Antibody tests do not give information about whether the person is sick at the time of the test.

Antibody testing can also help answer some key questions about SARS-CoV-2 and identify preventative strategies, such as:

• In determining the number of people infected with the virus in the society,
• To identify the people who caused the spread of the disease without realizing that they were caught,
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the measures taken to slow the spread of the disease,
• In determining the safe time to return to work by determining the immunity levels of the infected employees,
• Contributing to the treatment of individuals with immunity by giving plasma for their relatives or severe patients in need, if they meet the conditions.

“Tests should not be done haphazardly”

Noting that antibody tests should not be done indiscriminately everywhere, Uzm. Dr. Murat Polat “Biosafety is very important. The authority to run these tests by the Ministry of Health has been given to the institutions that diagnose and treat the Covid-19 disease. For the diagnosis of the new coronavirus, testing in a laboratory setting is necessary. The definitive diagnosis of coronavirus is carried out by molecular tests.