Rapid COVID-19 antibody test from home

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that usually only affect animals. However, some have the ability to be transmitted from animals to humans. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is a new type of coronavirus that can infect humans and was first detected in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. There is still a lot of unknown data about this virus and the infectious disease it causes.

The coronavirus detected in China in 2019 is closely related genetically to the SARS-CoV-1 virus causing SARS. The latter appeared in China at the end of 2002 and caused more than 8,000 cases in 33 countries over an eight-month period. About one in ten people who developed SARS died. The first case of COVID-19 was reported in China in January 2020 and as of April 15, 2020 there are 800,000 cases and over 40,000 deaths worldwide. While COVID-19 and seasonal influenza can be transmitted from person to person and can cause similar symptoms, the two viruses involved are very different and do not behave in the same way. The European Union estimates that between 15,000 and 75,000 people die prematurely each year in the European Union from causes associated with seasonal influenza infection. The mortality rate from seasonal influenza (about 1 in 1,000 people infected) is relatively low. COVID-19 is a more contagious, transmissible and severe disease than seasonal influenza and unlike influenza, there is currently no vaccine or specific treatment. Because it is a new virus, no one has acquired previous immunity, which means that the entire human population is potentially susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. There is not yet herd immunity in place in any country (70% of the population is already infected).

The incubation period, the time between infection with the virus and the onset of symptoms of COVID-19, is estimated to be 1 to 14 days and most frequently 5 to 6 days.

The most common symptoms are fever, cough and shortness of breath. In some cases, there are clinical forms with digestive symptoms (diarrhea, abdominal pain), neurological symptoms (loss of taste, smell) and even skin signs (erythema). In most cases (more than 80%) the disease is asymptomatic or results in mild symptoms. In the most severe cases (about 20%), the infection can cause pneumopathy or even an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), with kidney failure unfortunately leading to death (0.5% to 4% depending on the country). The most severe forms are mainly observed in elderly patients with co-morbidities (obesity, chronic disease, cardiac history, hypertension, pulmonary diseases, diabetes, immunodeficiency).

The average delay between the onset of symptoms and their disappearance is 2 weeks when the disease has been mild; and 3 to 6 weeks when it has been severe or critical.