COVID-19 must have made you hear about antibody testing. Medics use this type of test to test you for COVD-19 only if you previously had the disease. Researchers purposely use this test to confirm whether your body has developed antibodies against coronavirus after being infected with the disease. On the other hand, doctors use the PCR test to determine whether you have a virus at the time of testing. These tests are quite different, and here are the interesting facts about antibody and PCR testing that you didn’t know about:
They Are Different
Doctors also refer to antibody testing as serology testing, and scientists can only do it on you after fully recovering from COVID-19. The test involves a physician taking some blood samples from you via a finger prick. The doctor can also draw some blood from a visible vein in your arm. The doctors then test your blood sample to ascertain whether your body has developed new antibodies to fight coronavirus. Remember that your immune system reacts to the coronavirus by producing proteinous antibodies to help you fight the virus.
Should medics confirm that you have the antibodies, it means you have some immunity against COVID-19. The doctors at the Atlanta Men’s Clinic reveal that the presence of antibodies in your blood indicates that you have in the past been COVID-19 positive. Interestingly, these antibodies are not sure proof that you are immune against reinfection with coronavirus. Similarly, the level of immunity and how long the immunity can last are not yet known.
Furthermore, the time at which doctors perform this test on you can affect the accuracy of the results. Therefore should you have the test while you are still infected with the virus, the test may not show any antibodies. This is because your body is still striving to build up antibodies. It’s best if you take the test no less than 14 days after you experience COVID-19 symptoms.
Simultaneously, antibody testing can allow the individuals who take the test to donate plasma after they have recovered from the disease. Doctors can then use the plasma these individuals donate to treat other COVID-19 patients with severe disease symptoms. This can help the patients have a higher and better capability to fight off the virus.
The PCR test involves the medics taking the RNA genetic material of the virus from your body. An RNA is the genetic material that commands the body to make antibodies to fight off the virus. Doctors perform the test on you by swabbing some fluid from the back part of your nose or throat. The test cannot show medics whether you are infectious if it turns out positive.
Laboratory physicians have to heat and cool the PCR sample using unique reagents to transform the RNA of the virus into DNA. Afterward, the medics will make tens of millions of DNA which helps them identify the organism causing the disease. The procedure involved is intensive and requires the use of sophisticated laboratory equipment and well-experienced technicians. The physicians have to test one sample at a time. The PCR test is 80% effective in identifying COVD-19 infected persons.
The PCR test is also known as a molecular test and does not focus on your genetic material. The test is so powerful and can identify the presence of any virus in your body. PCR also enables experts to make many copies of a single genetic material even when you only have a small viral material in your body. Virus amplification is more straightforward with a PCR.
They Take Different Durations To Show Results
An antibody taste can take 15 minutes to show whether you are COVD-19 positive. Conversely, the PCR test can take between 24 and 72 hours to deliver results. Therefore should your PCR test show that you are COVID-19 positive, it means you are highly infectious, and you can spread the virus even three days before you see your first COVD-19 disease symptom. Interestingly, a PCR test can show you are COVD-19 positive even after 90days, while you may not necessarily have an active infection.
Doctors use both PCR and antibody tests to detect the presence of a virus in a person’s body and the availability of antibodies against the virus respectively. An antibody test yields instant results as it involves the use of a blood sample. The PCR test on the other hand takes between hours and days to show results depending on the testing facility. A PCR test involves genetic selection and complex processes. Finally, an antibody taste does not indicate whether you are currently battling COVD-19.