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Are there different tests for antibodies vs. active infections? Or is it just that if you have symptoms and antibodies, that means you have an active infection?
by jameslevy 6y ago
Are there different tests for antibodies vs. active infections? Or is it just that if you have symptoms and antibodies, that means you have an active infection? For example, many of us who want to see family, etc. at some point may want to test to make sure we're not currently contagious, even if we don't have any symptoms. If we have antibodies and no symptoms, that doesn't necessarily imply that we're not currently contagious.
- maxerickson 6y agoYes, the tests are different. The tests that look for the virus are probably more accurate than the antibody tests, at least right now.
- dba7dba 6y agoI have read that S. Korea's disease control center has not approved antibody tests because antibody tests are not accurate enough. Multiple S. Korean companies submitted test kits for coronavirus for approval, and not all were approved because of insufficient accuracy. Mainly antibody tests.
- smacktoward 6y agoYes. To see if someone has an active infection, you want an antigen test. To see if someone had an active infection in the past, you want an antibody test. More info at https://www.cnet.com/how-to/coronavirus-testing-what-to-know-about-antibody-tests-antigens-and-serology/ https://www.cnet.com/how-to/coronavirus-testing-what-to-know...
- didericis 6y agoYes, there are two types of tests. PCR tests check for active infections, whereas antibody tests check for immunity (For that strain of the virus at least). Antibody tests are only just starting to be done now, and not on a wide scale. It is currently unknown how long the antibodies last, but having antibodies does not mean you have an active infection. Info sourced from here: https://youtu.be/kgzFAdYwYLM https://youtu.be/kgzFAdYwYLM