Right now is truly a crazy time filled with so much uncertainty and its honestly scary. I hope that everyone and their friends and families are healthy and safe and following the social distancing guidelines. While I know everyone is doing their best right now to stay isolated and help slow the spread of the virus, there are raising questions about what is going to happen in the coming months. I am in no way an expert or scientist but I do have a little bit of knowledge about transmission of diseases and the human immune response to viruses, such as COVID-19, from my microbiology class. From this, I know how important it is to test individuals with these antibody screening tests because it can allow you to know if you’ve been infected with the virus, if your body has developed an effective immune response to the virus and if you are at risk for transmission or becoming infected. In the near future when society turns back to normal and there is a growing number of human interactions again these types of tests will help keep us from backtracking in our efforts to stop these infections.
For a lot of individuals who don’t have an extensive background in science or immunology, they might ask what exactly these antibody tests do. Antibodies are one of the most important molecules that our immune system can make. They are very specific to only one type of antigen, or foreign substance, and produced by a type of cell called B cells. When they come in contact with said antigen they mark it for destruction and allow for the adaptive immune system to really be effective in killing off the virus. The United States has just now started to test people to see if they have already produced these antibodies and if they are active in their bodies. They will analyze participants’ blood for two specific proteins, IgM and IgG. These are two types, of many, antibodies that the body can produce. From class, we have learned that IgM is the first type of antibody produced and will be at high levels during the beginning of an infection. IgG antibodies are much more specific antibodies, they can develop later on during infection and are the main protectors of our bodies from specific viruses. They allow us to track an individuals past or present immune response.
So, what do these tests tell us? If you were to get an antibody test done based on the results it could tell us if you have been infected with the virus, if you have recovered from the virus and if you are still infectious. It will be useful to help let people know when it is safe to go back out into society and go to work without fear. Since IgM antibodies are produced normally and the first responders to any infection, this normally indicated a recent infection. This could also mean your body has not yet produced specific antibodies that could attack the virus if you came in contact with it. If you have mainly IgG antibodies, this means your body has created specific antibodies that will remember the past pathogen and is ready to attack if it ever reenters your body. You most likely encountered the virus a while ago because your body needed time to produce these antibodies. If you get this result you are most likely okay to go out into public again and could have an effective adaptive immune response if you encounter COVIC-19 again. Also not likely to be passing around the virus still. This is exactly why these various antibody tests are so crucial for the COVID-19 pandemic because it allows humans to know where they stand in terms of infection with the virus. Those who are IgG positive could start to go back to normal life and to work again which is what we all what to do ASAP.
Grace's Blog about Science 