Testing for the Currently Infected
There are two types of testing for covid 19: one that tests to see if an individual is currently infected with the coronavirus and one that is an antibody test to see if an individual had been previously infected with the coronavirus, but is not currently infected. Many of the tests that are checking to see if a patient currently has covid focus on looking for RNA molecules of the virus. According to Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, one of the tests looking for specific RNA molecules is called Mango. Mango was developed at the Simon Fraser University. The Mango test to detect things on the molecular level and contains an aptamer, which acts like a magnet and binds to specific RNA segments. The Mango tests specifically looks for positive stranded RNA, which is what the coronavirus is. The test is called Mango due to the fluorogenic tendencies that occur when the aptamer binds to RNA segments. There are different tests to verify whether or not an individual is currently infected with the coronavirus, and Mango is just one of many that focuses on looking for the RNA strand of the coronavirus.
Introduction to Antibodies
Antibodies are proteins produced by B cells and they play a crucial part in our immune system. Antibodies are used to identify and fight bacteria and viruses that infect our bodies, but only ones that we have previously encountered, otherwise there is no way for our immune system to know how to combat a particular foreign particle. There are 5 different isotypes of antibodies, but two extremely relevant ones are IgM and IgG. IgM is the antibody that serves as the initial response, while IgG is longer lasting and the antibody most present in blood. Antibody titers are tests to determine how much of a particular antibody is present. When you test positive for only IgM means you are in the early stages of an infection, since IgM is associated with the first immune response to an infection. When you test positive for IgM and IgG then you are in the middle stages of an infection because you are showing antibodies associated with the initial and developed immune responses. When you have a primarily IgG antibody titer then you are in the last stages of the infection, since the antibody associated with the initial response is not extremely present. I am personally glad I am currently in microbiology because learning all of the details behind what I read in the news concerning the coronavirus leads to a deeper level of understanding and helps things make more sense.
Covid Antibody Test
A covid antibody test could be given to an individual to test whether they were previously infected with the coronavirus and have developed an immune response to the virus. An article from April 11 from Newsweek states that Stanford scientists have developed an antibody test. It is a blood test that takes between two and three days to get the results. It is testing for IgM and IgG antibodies associated with the coronavirus. As I explained in the previous paragraph, the abundance of the different types of antibodies will offer some insight into how far along in the infection a patient is. I think this will be a great tool to use to help places begin to reopen. If widespread antibody testing was available then people would know whether or not they have been infected. If you know you were infected and developed an immunity to it then you would be able to interact with others who were also immune and begin to resume normal life, and therefore be able to better aid those who are currently infected. I would hope that testing soon becomes easily available to everyone.
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