COVID-19 Antigen Testing

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Antigen Testing for covid-19

An Antigen is a substance that the human body’s immune system checks while on patrol with white blood cells. The antigen can be a self antigen (Friendly) or a foreign antigen (Unfriendly) substance. The foreign antigens that the body responds to are the ones that originate from outside the human body like viruses, bacteria, toxins, certain proteins in foods etc. Once the body identifies a foreign antigen the body activates the immune response that stimulates lymphocytes (White Blood Cells) to produce antibodies or the body attacks the antigen directly by engulfing (Eating) the antigen. The antigen test looks for the antigen molecules on the surface of the COVID-19 virus quickly but are less accurate, negative test results should be confirmed with a PCR Test.

  • Antigen tests for COVID-19 are similar to rapid flu or strep tests.

  • This test can be run in a lab or in a doctor’s office, and only takes about 15 minutes.

  • Qualitative detection of the nucleocapsid protein antigen from SARSCoV-2 in nasopharyngeal (NP) and nasal (NS) swab specimens directly or after the swabs have been added to viral transport media

  • The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein antigen is generally detectable in respiratory specimens during the acute phase of infection

  • Antigen tests can quickly detect the coronavirus, but are generally considered less accurate than other types of tests that search out the virus.

 

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