New type of Covid-19 test
A NEW type of Covid-19 test that utilises blood samples is expected to provide more detailed information to help form government strategy in combating the pandemic.
The main difference between the new test and others is that, in addition to identifying anyone infected, the “Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays” (Elisa) method can identify those who are immune to Covid-19.
A Ministry of Health statement this week disclosed that Elisa tests would be available at selected laboratories if requested by a doctor on behalf of a patient.
As with existing tests, the Elisa method often involves extracting saliva from the patient’s throat using a cotton swab. Samples are then analysed to detect any antibodies that the immune system would have mustered to fight the virus in the blood of the person being tested. Such antibodies would indicate that the body had already shown an immune response to infection by a specific virus.
For Elisa tests, a patient is also required to give a small blood sample that is then tested in a laboratory. If Covid-19 elements are present in the sample, it changes colour. A positive result, however, could mean that the patient had a Covid-19 infection and, as a result, had a degree of immunity to it.
A medical specialist, who wished to remain anonymous for “ethical” reasons, told CyprusToday: “Elisa tests are an important tool for epidemiologists to estimate how many people have gone through an infection undetected and whether a certain level of herd immunity might eventually be achieved.
“Such information can help politicians to decide whether to relax restrictions. The test can also help to check the immunity of those who were definitely infected with Covid-19 in the past.”
Former head of the Prime Ministry’s Covid-19 Coordination Council, Sibel Siber, said that the cost of Elisa tests in the TRNC had yet to be fixed but that in Turkey it was 350TL
Responding to news of the Elisa testing method being introduced to the TRNC, Remzi Gardiyanoğlu, head of the Self-Employed Doctors’ Union, said: “People should also be quarantined in better conditions so that the number of tests can be increased. We may then have better and clearer information about positive cases and those who have immunity.”