Coronavirus: ‘100% accurate’ antibody test approved for use in UK for first time

Screening to detect past infection previously heralded by PM as a ‘game-changer’

A test to check whether a person has previously had coronavirus has been praised by Public Health England after it was found to carry a 100 per cent rate of success when it came to ruling out false positives – paving the way for people to potentially see if they have built up an immunity to Covid-19.

The tests, developed by Swiss firm Roche, have already been given the green light in the US. UK officials are also reportedly in talks to roll out millions in the UK to check how aggressively the virus has spread through the country, according to The Times.

It comes after another batch of tests ordered by the government in mid-March were deemed too unreliable to be used.

Professor John Newton, the national coordinator of the UK’s coronavirus testing programme, said in a statement that Roche’s highly specific test served as a reliable marker of previous infection.

“We were confident that good quality antibody tests would become available when they were needed,” he said. “Last week, scientific experts at PHE Porton Down carried out an independent evaluation of the new Roche Sars-CoV-2 serology [test] in record time, concluding that it is a highly specific [test] with specificity of 100 per cent.”

Antibody testing was dubbed a “gamechanger” by Boris Johnson in the early days of the UK outbreak, carrying the potential to confirm the spread of the virus through the nation as well as potentially assuring people of their immunity. Some studies have suggested as many as four in five of those who contract the coronavirus will do so without exhibiting symptoms.

However, while buoyed by the high accuracy of the newly approved test, officials have been keen to note that the science remains unclear on exactly how immunity to the virus works.

Professor Newton added: “This is a very positive development because such a highly specific antibody test is a very reliable marker of past infection. This, in turn, may indicate some immunity to future infection although the extent to which the presence of antibodies indicates immunity remains unclear.”

The Department of Health and Social Care is reportedly in negotiations with Roche to buy millions of the kits.