Serology Testing for COVID-19: May 5, 2020

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (U.S.). Division of Viral Diseases. ; United States. Department of Homeland Security. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency‏.
• Description:
  CDC has developed a laboratory blood test to assist with efforts to determine how much of the U.S. population has been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. CDC is also using its serologic test (antibody) to evaluate the performance of commercial antibody tests.
  
  An antibody test looks for the presence of antibodies, which are specific proteins made in response to infections. Antibodies can be found in the blood of people who are tested after infection and show that people have had an immune response to the infection. Antibody test results are especially important for detecting previous infections with few or no symptoms.
  
  However, we do not know if the antibodies that result from SARS-CoV-2 infection will provide someone with immunity from a future infection. If antibodies do provide immunity, we don’t know what titer or amount of antibodies would be protective or the duration that protection would last. CDC scientists are conducting studies to better understand the level of antibodies needed for protection, the duration of that protection, and the factors associated with whether a person develops a protective antibody response.
  
  CDC’s serologic test has been designed and validated for broad-based surveillance and research purposes, to provide information needed to guide the response to the pandemic and protect the public’s health. This test is not currently designed for individual use, i.e., to test people who want to know if they have been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.
  
  What CDC wants to learn -- Next Steps -- Additional Resources.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Clinical Laboratory Techniques Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis COVID-19 Serologic Tests
• Series:
  Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Collection(s):
  Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3698ce1a59486dc91a59457ef92cdef8766809cfaeae766961eba0acfa8ae0ae6d4a3663b079913b8b07b8449f368def4e3e346cfb1b976f6329f74603a5807e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/88063/cdc_88063_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 74.95 KB ]