Since the beginning of April, the Laboratory Medical Center Dr. Risch (LMZ) corona antibody tests. The test measures specific antibodies against components of the coronavirus in the blood. As of last Friday, as of the end of April, 1,000 people had been tested, around 7,000. This figure relates to people from Liechtenstein and Switzerland – a breakdown by country was made according to Lorenz Risch, Chairman of the Board and Chief Medical Officer of the LMZ Group, not worked up. Also, the question of how many people would have developed antibodies cannot yet be answered: “Today there is no representative data on the immune responses to antibody tests in the general population in German-speaking Switzerland and Liechtenstein,” adds Risch. However, the results of the LMZ group on blood samples from Eastern Switzerland showed a positive rate of two to three percent at the end of April.
Roche’s test is used at the Risch laboratory
Blood is drawn from the patient for the test. The laboratory then analyzes the sample. The antibodies searched for appear at the earliest ten to twelve days after symptoms appear in the blood. In the laboratory, a so-called Elisa test (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) is used for the analysis. The Risch laboratory relies on the Eclia test (electrochemiluminescence immunoassay) from the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche. The price for the entire test is CHF 59.20. Important to know: The price for the antibody test is not subject to the mandatory health care insurance (OKP).
Some questions have not yet been answered
However, there are still open questions in connection with the antibody tests. On the one hand, no final research has been carried out into whether and for how long you are protected against reinfection – especially with regard to changing variants of the virus. In order to know whether people are immune after experiencing a corona disease, “epidemiological studies in humans are ultimately necessary to refute or confirm these assumptions,” Risch said when asked earlier. On the other hand, an antibody test can give a false positive result even with high specificity. This would be fatal for the test subject – one could weigh oneself in false security and therefore disregard distance and hygiene rules. According to the LMZ group, several test formats were evaluated in detail and one that was able to provide information with a “high accuracy” was selected. This is precisely that of Roche. Politics, business and medicine need the tests to a certain extent – they are expected to provide epidemiological data. Because as long as there is no vaccine and no medication against the corona virus on the market, the infection of the population – a so-called herd immunity – is a suitable means of stopping the infection process.
Maybe everyone can get tested for antibodies soon
The 7,000 tests previously carried out by the Risch laboratory have been carried out on people in the healthcare sector and on those with clear corona symptoms. Recently, the laboratory has also offered companies the option of having their employees tested for antibodies. “So far, ten companies have used this,” says Risch. The LMZ Group now wants to make the antibody tests available to a broad public. To this end, a pilot project by the laboratory in Ticino – the canton with one of the largest incidences of Covid 19 diseases – has been running since mid-April. “It is particularly important to determine whether the planned processes, such as taking blood and medical advice, are suitable for the masses,” explains Lorenz Risch. The high quality of the testing could have been ensured. (qus)
–
