![]() ![]() ![]() Professor Townsend said: “All we need to do is mix a low-cost reagent with a small blood sample, and the clumping of the red cells after one hour shows whether the blood sample contained antibodies against the novel coronavirus or not.” ![]() The test also does not require any special equipment or take a long time to show the results, and is accurate: “It correctly identifies coronavirus spike protein antibodies 90% of the time, with less than a 1% false positive rate.” This clump is big enough to be seen by eye. When antibodies to the virus are present they create a clump of red blood cells. The test relies on linking a part of the viral spike protein to the surface of red blood cells. Study lead Professor Alain Townsend from the MRC Human Immunology Unit at Oxford University said: 'Our test is very cheap to produce, so we are using existing funding from charitable donations to offer 10 million tests for research purposes to countries that cannot support very high-tech solutions.' This is especially a problem in low-income countries. There are already several commercial tests, which can detect whether someone has antibodies against the novel coronavirus, but these tests are expensive and usually need a central laboratory to analyse them. Both infection with the virus and vaccines can generate antibodies. The scientists also hope that the large-scale use of their tests might help researchers and policy-makers track levels of protective immunity in the community.Īntibodies are large proteins that lock onto and help the body’s immune system fight off disease-causing organisms, such as the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The research team, which includes scientists from Taiwan, India, Thailand and France, as well as UK university and NHS researchers, trialled the test on patients with COVID-19, but now hope to adapt it to identify those who have successfully generated antibodies after a vaccine, versus those who may need a booster. The test, which spots the presence of virus-fighting antibodies rather than a coronavirus infection, can be adapted to work on blood from a finger prick – making it quick and easy to use. An international research team led by Oxford University scientists has developed a portable test for antibodies that fight the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. ![]()
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