new tests to detect if we have been in contact with the Covid

Until now, to know if you had been in contact with Covid-19, you had to do a serological test or a blood test in the laboratory, in order to look for traces of antibodies. But soon it will also be possible to find out from another test of the same type. Inserm researchers have indeed developed a new concept to study the progression of the epidemic. And if it is for the moment reserved for research, it has several advantages, since it is very inexpensive and can be carried out anywhere, without specialized equipment.

“Can do this anywhere”

The reagent costs less than a euro cent per test and it has performances very close to laboratory serologies. Another of its characteristics is that it is very easy to use: all you have to do is mix a drop of blood taken at your fingertip with a little reagent on a plastic plate. There is therefore no need for laboratories, since the drop of blood which coagulates on the platelet indicates whether you are a carrier of antibodies against Covid-19 or not.

“The original idea is to be able to do this anywhere, without specialized equipment. Initially, the red blood cells will be suspended in the small wells of the plate, and then gravity will cause them to will fall to the bottom. The reaction is very fast and it takes an hour to be able to detect it, “explains its designer, Etienne Joly, Inserm researcher at the CNRS in Toulouse.

In the immediate term, this test could help researchers track the spread of the epidemic around the world, with large-scale sampling, even in remote areas. Only downside, its distribution remains for the moment limited to research institutes, pending additional clinical trials.