Thousands to be tested next month for Covid-19 antibodies

THE HSE will conduct two Covid-19 antibody investigations next month to see for the first time how far the coronavirus has spread.

The current tests for Covid-19 are antigen tests and only detect the virus if someone currently has it.

Antibody tests can find out if a person has had the disease in the past – even if they weren’t aware that they had it.

Speaking yesterday at a HSE briefing, chief executive Paul Reid said: ‘We’re closely monitoring what is happening in terms of antibody testing.’

He said there is a plan to carry out two surveys in June, to try to measure the level of the disease in the population.’

Mr Reid said that, according to the World Health Organisation, most people who are affected by Covid19 will develop an antibody response that will provide some level of protection.

Some other European countries have already completed similar surveys, with Spain and Italy reporting a 5% prevalence in their populations.

Denmark reported 1% prevalence, while Norway recorded less than 1%.

Mr Reid said that 310,000 regular tests have now been carried out in Ireland.

He said that the positivity rate of tests being completed by the HSE is running at 2%.

‘From last Monday May 18, we’ve now introduced the automatic testing of close contacts of confirmed cases, a process we put in place to continuously monitor the potential impact of the disease,’ he said.

Mr Reid added that testing turnaround now takes 2.3 days.