Antibody test kits

[DrTuner]

 It seems many test kits for antibodies are starting to pop up. While these may still be inaccurate and only give positives after the infection is gone, this is the first one I've seen being offered to general public : http://www.bluesoleil.com/products/H0011202003240001.html . A bit surprising source, but apparently they are involved in hospital supply chains.

 

 IMHO these types of kits should be distributed to every household for free. Even if inaccurate, they could catch at least some positives and tell them to self isolate. On the other hand they might give a false sense of security. In any case, I hope the PTT sponsored Thai kits are ramping up manufacturing ASAP.

 

Here's a list of some of them: https://www.finddx.org/covid-19/pipeline/

Edited March 27, 2020 by DrTuner

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

While these may still be inaccurate and only give positives after the infection is gone

Do you think they haven't been tested ????

[edwardandtubs]

Millions of these are going to be distributed in the UK and other countries soon but before they do that they are testing the effectiveness of them.

[DrTuner]

28 minutes ago, ukrules said:

Do you think they haven't been tested ????

https://theconversation.com/covid-19-tests-how-they-work-and-whats-in-development-134479

 

Quote

Antibody typically takes a few weeks to develop against a new infection and lasts much longer in the bloodstream than the virus itself, providing a historical picture of past infections. The first studies suggest this is no different with COVID-19. This type of “serology” testing is a powerful tool used to check if vaccines work, for example, or to find out if people have encountered an infection.

However, current antibody tests for the novel coronavirus haven’t fully been tested yet to be sure they are reliable, which is why WHO guidelines recommend RT-PCR testing. 

 

It's not the test itself, it's the human body. Antibodies will show up in required amounts only after some time: https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.11.2000266