01.
PCR (laboratory) test
The PCR test is based on a polymerase chain reaction that can detect the RNA portion of the virus.
The test is the most advanced microbiological method, which shows the presence of viral RNA with a high degree of certainty. This test is positive if the coronavirus is found in the bloodstream and airway mucosa.
Its great advantage is that it shows a positive result even in the few days before the symptoms caused by the virus appear, but not in all cases, so it may be necessary to repeat it. If the coronavirus is infected, the virus will disappear from the mucous membrane, so another test may confirm that the disease has stopped. A negative test after a positive test shows that the disease is no longer present in the body.
The PCR test is included in the state test register and has a reporting obligation under the procedure
02.
Antigen test: You can find out if you have a virus in your body within 5 minutes
The antigen test, similar to the PCR test, detects the presence of the virus in the patient's body. Positive when the coronavirus is already present in the bloodstream and airway mucosa. This occurs 1-2 days before the onset of symptoms, so this test, like PCR, can detect infection. The big advantage is that the test is fast, gives results 5-10 minutes after sampling and is cheaper than the PCR test. The disadvantage is that it cannot be used for official quarantine release and other official certification.
As PCR detection is currently the gold standard for virus detection and may require a PCR test in the event of a serious clinical suspicion of a negative antigen test, the health authority may, in its discretion, require a confirmatory PCR test.
The sampling procedure is the same as for C-PCR assay sampling: as for C-PCR sampling, a patient with a fasting stomach is swabbed from the nasopharynx. The patient should not eat, drink, brush or smoke prior to sampling. From the sample taken, the evaluation procedure with the reagent is performed at a site where we are able to detect the virus directly by means of a mobile test.
03.
Serological test: you can find out within 5 minutes if you have already had the infection
The coronavirus rapid test is an examination of an antibody detected in blood taken after the fingertip has been inserted. This means that it does not detect the virus itself in the body,
but two antibodies (IgM and IgG) produced by the immune system in response to the virus entering the body. Two types of immune responses are possible:
Early immune response: presumably begins to develop 5-7 days after infection, as indicated by IgM positivity in the test, in which case we are still in the active phase of the infection. Late immune response: occurs 10-14 days after infection, as evidenced by current scientific belief that IgG positivity refers to 1-3 years of protection if a person has undergone it.
04.
ELISA blood test: shows whether an antibody to the SARS-CoV-2 virus produced by your body can be detected in your body.
All pathogens, such as viral infections, trigger the body's defense mechanism, so that first IgA, then IgM, and then IgG-type antibodies can be detected in the blood.
To the best of our knowledge, the IgA (initial) type antibody produced against COVID-19 virus is 2-4 after infection. After days 9-10, the IgM (early) type antibody after infection in days 9-10. day 1, IgG type (late) antibody 12-14 days after infection. can be detected in the blood after 1 day using whole blood, blood serum, or plasma.
