Coronavirus tests. Can they see if you already had it??

[DontBiteTheBoobThatFeedsYou]

I'm a student nurse in my final year. I've got an A&E placement next and they are saying not to go if I care for someone who is in an at-risk category. Which I am.

However there's talk of more testing.

I believe we have all already had it. Meaning if I got the test and it showed I already had it then I could do the placement and work front line and actually help them.

However, are the tests only viable if you have current symptoms? Or can they show whether you had the virus and subsequently recovered?

Because if it's the latter I need to seriously start thinking about getting tested.

They don't yet have an antibodies test but they're working on it. I'm in a similar situation but I'm school staff.

Getting tested at present isn't an option regardless unless you require hospital admission.

they are working on a test.
shouldn't be too long until it's available.

No antibodies test yet but apparently it’s not far off and when they get released it will be a game changer.
Sending lots of positive vibes to the scientists working on it

Not yet but they are working quickly on this test

Morning. I've currently got it and isolating. I also want to know if I can do more after I'm better. Can I visit high risk people (at a distance). Am I still at risk of being a carrier? I can't find any information or guidance.

That's helpful thank you.

I've asked a few lecturers at uni who are at the forefront of the information (but I knew I'd get a quicker overall answer from MN).

I've got 6 weeks of placement after Easter, so I'm hoping that long stretch of time will be on my side with regards to the antibodies test. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

There IS an antibodies test! Biomerica Ltd. They showed it a few days ago on the news, with the packs being boxed up, but they wouldnt say 'where' the tests were being shipped from. They need a finger prick of blood and only take 10min for a result, rather than the current nasal/throat swab which requires a lab to test and takes several hours/overnight. Might of course be fake news though?

The current tests are PCR based, they're looking for genetic sequences specific to the virus. These are extremely sensitive and extremely specific but, if you've completely cleared the virus from your body, they won't be positive (though inactive virus components might trigger it, RNA is less stable than DNA and coronavirus is an RNA virus so it's more likely the genetic material will break down quickly).

The sort of test that detects whether you've been infected in the past will generally look for the antibodies your body raises against the virus or other lingering molecules specific to the pathogen (though these are more commonly used for parasites and bacteria) (serology). These aren't to be confused with immunoassays, which use synthetic antibodies as a testing reagent, though serology assays often use synthetic antibodies for the test.

At the moment, the focus is on PCR assays which can be employed more widely.

@Gronky

I didn't understand a word of that but it was beautiful and impressive.

I understood Gronky.

I doubt that will work for me. I currently still have symptoms but by the time the PCR based tests are reeled our, I think I will be asymptomatic and over it. I doubt they will do the latter test and a mere student nurse!

The antibodies test was the one bit of Bojo’s speech yesterday that gave me hope. I really hope it’s widely available soon, the virus will be much better understood with that data, and from a personal POV I know loads of us will be desperate to know if whatever we are currently/soon unwell with is actually CV or not

Thanks, ineedsun. DontBite, I imagine that, if it becomes available, you could well have priority because it would result in extra hands on deck for the health services. Serology is a little more tricky than PCR to certify since the specificity of genes is easier to demonstrate than the specificity of immunoantibodies (they'll have to demonstrate that their targeted antibodies aren't raised against other organisms).

That's very interesting, Elouera, it's not surprising given Biomerica's portfolio so I wouldn't expect it to be fake news but we are probably a bit further off than we are for kit based PCR (at the moment, it's manual but companies that produce PCR kits, which can be performed inside an hour with much less equipment are working on manufacturing the primers needed for this disease).

they'll have to demonstrate that their targeted antibodies aren't raised against other organisms
Given that there's been strains of covid around forever, you mean?

Impressive knowledge @gronky thank you!

@Gronky I am having to work through that with my dads old medical dictionary but it is good to increase my understanding (eventually). Thank you.

OP I would hope that when testing becomes available it is first offered to all frontline NHS staff, regardless of rank. Nothing "mere" about being a student nurse at any time, let alone in these times.

I will 100% have that test.

I thought there were several antibody tests already being used in a few places - e.g., Singapore? - but that there wasn't enough capability to mass produce them in the quantities needed, or possibly also that the data on the reliability etc isn't fully gathered yet. Isn't the company in Belfast already producing some?

Given that there's been strains of covid around forever, you mean?

It's a possibility, I don't have access to the research being done on the specific target for the immunoassay. Essentially, if the antibody which the body produces acts against something specific to C-19 and only that, you can present it with a similar molecule with the same structure (don't worry, they're not sending out C-19 itself) but, if it also acts against other molecules produced by other organisms, then the test will only be as specific as the antibody produced by the body. If it's a non serological immunoassay, then they will have to make sure the target molecule isn't found elsewhere and a test which doesn't look for antibodies won't be as effective at diagnosing a past infection (since viral proteins won't persist in the body for as long as the antibodies against them).

Bimbleberries, as I understand it, they're currently using immunoassays which aren't approved in the UK to screen and then confirming with PCR.

A quick note for anyone looking for more information: reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) just means they convert viral RNA (C-19 uses RNA in place of DNA, some other viruses use DNA for genetic storage) to DNA before conducting a normal PCR.