" We have developed a" sero-neutralization "test which detects antibodies but above all which measures their capacity to inhibit the entry of the virus into a cell. This test therefore provides information on the effectiveness of antibodies, ”says the founder and scientific director of TheraVectys, the virologist Pierre Charneau in an interview published this Monday, April 27 in Liberation .
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Unlike existing serological tests, which only detect the presence of antibodies developed by a person after a coronavirus infection and which are unable to tell whether the person is protected or not by a new infection, that developed by the laboratory of the virologist Pierre Charneau "provides information on the effectiveness of antibodies ". It would be " a precious tool to support deconfinement ", assures the scientist. The test classifies the degrees of immunity into three categories: strong neutralizing, weak and non-neutralizing.
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However, the question of the reliability of the serological test may slow down its distribution. The danger concerning this test is indeed that it could give false positives, that is to say " a person detected positive with neutralizing antibodies but who would not in reality be protected " and who would therefore spread the virus, explains Pierre Hinge. But for now, the researcher claims to have " never had a false positive ". “ It is very difficult to guarantee 100% reliability. What we are certain of today is that the error rate is very low, ”he stressed to Liberation .
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Experienced for the first time as part of the Institut Pasteur study on the Jean-Monnet high school in Crépy-en-Valois (Oise) and used since April 20 by epidemiology research, this test could be available soon to individuals. Once the green light is given by the High Authority for Health, it will then be possible to be tested by going to take a blood test in a city analysis laboratory, and to wait two days to have the results.
