Hello kits!!! Helps us please.....
- SYAZANA AB. MANAF
- Nov 5, 2020
- 3 min read
How can Antigen & Antibody Rapid Kits Help to Detect COVID-19?Figure 1: How Coronavirus looks like.
Word "corona" is coming from Latin which mean crown.
A short introduction about the "famous" coronavirus which had caused our current pandemic outbreak. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses. There are actually hundred types of coronaviruses, most of them circulate among animals like pigs, camels, and bats. However, there are three new types of the virus have emerged from animal reservoirs for the past few decades. Those three viruses can cause serious disease and even causing death. The first outbreak was SARS-CoV, then MERS and latest COVID-19.
SARS-CoV was first identified in November 2002
Ended in 2004
have no vaccine
The outbreak was largely brought under control by public health measures. (early detection)
MERS-CoV first identified in 2012 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Currently, as of 9th October 2020, U.S CDC had not approved any MERS-CoV prevention vaccine.
COVID-19 identified in 2019
Easily spread because no symptoms shown and cannot be detected in early stages .
So currently, many scientists and researchers are trying their best to create and come out with a kit that can detect this coronavirus, specifically virus which has caused COVID-19. There is already a few existing kits, however it cannot be used as the sole basis of the test as false negative case could be occurred.
So basically, there are two types of kits that have been used widely to detect COVID-19. It is antibody and antigen rapid test kit. Maybe some of you might wondering what is the difference between these two test kits. The comparison is as follow:
Some of the antibody rapid test kits in the market are:
Covid-19 Antibody Mobile Testing Kit by Jenho Limited (Hong Kong)- https://jenholtd.com/collections/covid-19-antibody-test-kit
REVEALCOVID-19 Total Antibody Test by Webb Diagnostic Technologies (Nashville)- https://webbdx.com/products/
COVID-19 IgG/IgM LF by Advagen Biotech (Brazil)- http://advagen.tecnologia.ws/produtos/detalhado/413/COVID-19-IgG-IgM-LF
Some of the antigen rapid test kits in the market are:
Sofia SARS Antigen by Quidel Corporation (San Diego California)- https://www.quidel.com/immunoassays/rapid-sars-tests/sofia-sars-antigen-fia
COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Swab Test Principle by JOYSBIO Biotechnology Co.,Ltd. (China)- https://en.joysbio.com/covid-19-antigen-rapid-test-kit/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwufn8BRCwARIsAKzP694q6eqldvkszBPQih--80fHQidkkw2hu4tS3_JdtzBzrlEQqUs3YmIaArbHEALw_wcB
Some of you might be wondering why these kits not able to fully detect the viruses. Well, the answer could be, the kits that available in the market now are not able to amplify the signal from the virus (for the antigen kits), and the sensors used not able to detect the signal which caused false result.
The situation can be explained by using the analogy when you are at the airport, trying to pass through the metal detector or scanner, to pass through this detector you need to remove all your belonging, including your belt,bag, handbag and what left is your clothes. This is to prevent false positive, where the detector will be beeping for unprohibited material (eg: belt). But then, there are also cases where smuggler of drugs can pass through the checking point. Yes, full body scanners are used to detect threatening items such as weapons, explosives and drugs under multiple layer of clothing. But bare in mind that there are a few different types of full-body scanner. Some of them uses special type of electromagnetic wave to detect wide range of items, and some are not. Same goes to the kits. It could be the type of material in the sensors that currently use are not sensitive enough to detect the virus. So, what could be the perfect material or component to be used in the kits for it to fully function? It is indeed require more research and finding in that area.
So here are some of the videos on how antigen and antibody kits works.
With that, I end this entry with million thanks to you!
Hope you enjoy, and get benefit from it.
Stay safe, Take care!
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
To get latest update on COVID-19: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
If you want to discover more kits that available in the market: https://www.rapidmicrobiology.com/test-method/testing-for-the-wuhan-coronavirus-a-k-a-covid-19-sars-cov-2-and-2019-ncov
A very good write up, with simple explanations. Need a summary of what's available in the market and compare and contrast their performance.