The Champalimaud Foundation and the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) will carry out serological tests as part of the Covid-19 pandemic on 1235 people in essential services in the municipality of Loulé, the Foundation announced today.
The objective of this study is "to understand the degree of immunity of the population tested to guide future measures in the phase of recovery from the pandemic and the resumption of economic activity", explained the Champalimaud Foundation in a statement.
The Champalimaud Foundation said that these tests for «health and risk professionals in Loulé» are carried out under a protocol signed with the ABC and that they will contribute to «definition of seroprevalence for SARS-CoV-2 in the Algarve county ».
"This study will test health professionals, security and civil protection agents, employees of nursing homes and similar institutions, employees of service companies of the central or local administration and journalists, in a total of 1235 tests", explained the Foundation, which performs cutting-edge research in neuroscience and cancer.
The statement said that serological tests will be carried out «by enzyme immunoassay (ELISA)» and the results will allow for «a quantitative determination of human antibodies of the IgG immunoglobulin class against a surface protein of SARS-CoV-2», the virus that provokes the Covid-19.
"This test allows detecting whether or not an individual has antibodies against the virus in their blood, that is, whether or not they have been in contact with the new coronavirus," he explained.
The Champalimaud Foundation added that "shortly, rapid serological tests (POCT) may be used to detect IgM and IgG" and that "individuals detected with positive serological tests will be additionally tested by RTqPCR to measure potential active viral load."
The Algarve Biomedical Center will carry out the «collection of blood samples, serum collection, transport logistics and possible viral tests (RT-qPCR)», underlined the scientific foundation.
The institution, one of the international references for research in neuroscience and cancer, also revealed that the cost of this work will be “entirely assumed by the Champalimaud Foundation”.
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