HAS issued an opinion on Saturday, in which it presents the cases where serological tests are useful in the fight against Covid-19.
Careful advice. The High Health Authority (HAS) presented, on Saturday, May 2, the cases where serological tests are useful in the fight against Covid-19, to confirm a diagnosis, or “when there are no symptoms (…) for the staff of health establishments or places of collective accommodation” like Ehpad, prisons, barracks, university residences. Serological tests are a complement to virological tests, which make it possible to make a diagnosis and to tell if a patient is infected when they are carried out.
HAS has focused on tests carried out in a medical biology laboratory, called ELISA. It will issue another opinion on rapid diagnostic tests or self-tests “in eight or ten days”, said HAS president Dominique Le Guludec during an online press conference.
Serological laboratory tests are carried out by “take blood and seek to detect the antibodies that the body produces against a virus”, said Dominique Le Guludec. They are “very precious and already answer many questions”, she continued. They let you know if a person is sick or has been sick, “to complete or confirm the diagnosis”.
On the other hand, these tests do not allow to say if a person is contagious or if he is protected against coronavirus. “Today, no serological test is capable of delivering you the immune passport that everyone dreams of deconfinement”, said Dominique Le Guludec. Consequently, these tests are not recommended in “screening in the general population”, she said. HAS excludes them from “the organization of work within a company”. These tests must be performed with a prescription, according to the HAS and ideally be reimbursed. Results are available within 24 hours maximum.
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