Researchers at the University Hospital of Zurich are on the trail of the currently rampant coronavirus and the Covid-19 disease caused by it . They are using a new antibody test for their study .
A whole network of Swiss researchers developed this antibody test, as Adriano Aguzzi, head of the Institute for Neuropathology at the University Hospital, told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Tuesday.
This is a purely experimental test that is made pseudonymized. This means that for the time being, the patients are not given any information about their status. The “Tages-Anzeiger” also reported on this antibody test.
In contrast to the common tests, in which a throat swab is examined for virus particles, the researchers test the blood for antibodies with their new development. These are formed when people have had a Sars-CoV-2 infection. Even those with little or no symptoms of the infection could be identified in this way.
At the university hospital, the researchers now want to test the blood of all patients who come to the hospital - not just those who are admitted with a coronavirus infection. The series test provides important information.
Unreported numbers come to light
This enables the researchers to determine, for example, how high the infection is, i.e. how many people carry the virus or have already gone through the disease. The number of unreported cases is also revealed because the patients have no symptoms.
It also examines the diseases with which the patients are hospitalized. Because not all come with the typical symptoms such as cough and fever.
"There are still a lot of ambiguities," said Aguzzi. It is fundamentally important to provide more knowledge. An advantage of the new test is that a very high throughput is possible. The blood of 1000 to 2000 patients can be tested every day.