25 August 2020 14:25

Serological tests will be held in Azerbaijan starting next week in connection with the fight against the coronavirus pandemic

Serological tests will be held among the population as part of the measures carried out to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in our country. As serological testing is an important part of the strategy for fighting against the pandemic, the Government of Azerbaijan takes important steps in this field.

The main purposes of testing are to get information on ​​the prevalence of COVID-19 infection among the population and to study the level of immunity in people who have recovered from the disease. Through these tests, it is possible to determine the number of people who have recovered from the disease and gained immunity in the last 3 months. Studying the level of immunity against the virus gained by the population through serological tests makes it possible to find the most appropriate approaches to combat the pandemic.

Until today, various studies on serological tests have been conducted in other countries, in cities with the most prevalence of the infection. For example, serological tests were conducted in cities such as Oldendorf in Germany, Wuhan in China, Mumbai in India, and Geneva in Switzerland. In Turkey, 153,000 people have taken an antibody test to identify the map of immunity to COVID-19.

An action plan has been developed for conducting serological tests in Azerbaijan. The tests will be conducted on a voluntary basis among randomly selected population groups. For this purpose, randomly selected people will be called from the call center, and a specially trained nurse will be sent from the polyclinic in their area of residence to the home of the person who agreed to take the test. A sample of only 3-5 ml of blood taken intravenously is sufficient for examination. Blood samples will be delivered to the laboratory for analysis as soon as possible. Specialists will conduct medical and statistical assessment of the analysis results, and the public will be informed about the final results. Every volunteer who was analyzed will be able to get the results of the analysis.

At the initial stage, the research is planned to be conducted in Baku, Sumgayit and Ganja. The research will be carried out with reagents manufactured by the German company EUROIMMUN and imported to the country by the state.

In addition, a general blood test can be conducted at the request of the citizen.

It should be noted that, after a person is infected with the virus, the body produces protective proteins—antibodies. It takes some time for the body to produce antibodies. On the other hand, the immunity gained may remain in the body temporarily, not permanently. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct serological tests as soon as possible and get results.