Usually, with the outbreak of a contagious disease, the first response is rapid testing by health officials, and this occurred with the outbreak of the coronavirus. The government began COVID-19 testing to know those infected to be able to deliver immediate medical care. The testing also helps people to self-isolate and know those who had contact with infected persons.
Presently, COVID-19 testing is not only offered by the government. Private COVID test is now available, and you can contact your private health care provider if you experience symptoms of the virus.
Benefits of COVID-19 testing
Testing for COVID-19 would help in the treatment, isolation, and hospitalisation of infected persons. In the public health sector, COVID-19 testing will help to mitigate the effect of the virus, know the prevalence, and spread of the coronavirus.
Early testing in most countries was not sufficient to curtail the spread of the virus, and this had led to a high increase in the number of hospitalised patients which has overwhelmed the public health and clinical sector.
The public healthcare facilities and clinical care sectors are short of the necessary testing equipment to provide results on time. The lack of health care providers to care for infected persons is also an issue in the fight against the coronavirus.
Another major problem is the absence of effective contact tracing, which helps to identify those who had contact with infected persons. Contact tracing usually takes a lot of human resources and time, but these two vital resources are lacking. The surge in the number of infections is linked to the insufficiency of these resources.
Antibody test
The COVID-19 antibody test is one of the important tests. It helps identify those who previously contracted the coronavirus. When you contract the coronavirus, the immune system responds to the presence of the novel virus by producing antibodies to fight it off.
An immune response is a mechanism used by the body to fight off infections and protects the body. When a foreign substance like thecoronavirus enters the body, the immune system gets activated, producing and mobilising different proactive molecules and cells (antibodies). After the initial infection, the immune system recognises the virus and protects the person by preventing re-infection.
When the antibody test detects the antibodies specific to the coronavirus, it means the person was exposed to the virus. Although the person is no longer at risk of the coronavirus, the information helps in the study of COVID-19.
A confirmation that someone was previously infected and has recovered helps the public health care experts understand the level of immunity gained by members of the public. If many people are already immune to the coronavirus, it means that there is herd immunity.If people know they have been infected and have gained immunity against the coronavirus, it will help them, especially health workers to confidently go about their work.
The antibody is important in clinical care because it helps caregivers identify those with plasma containing antibodies specific to COVID-19. It is possible to use the plasma of these persons to treat other people and avoid severe complications of the disease. For example, in 1918, the plasma of recovered people that gained immunity helped to mitigate the flu pandemic.
More research is ongoing to explore the possibility of treating infected COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma (plasma of previously infected persons who have gained immunity). COVID-19 antibody testing will go a long way on finding measures to slow or stop the spread of the coronavirus in the future.
Ensure you get your private COVID test in London if you experience symptoms of the coronavirus and adhere to the COVID-19 health andsafety measures like washing your hands regularly and wearing your face mask. Visit here https://www.stdcheck.london/covid-19-pcr-swab-testing-for-travel for your COVID test.