Antibodies, the blood proteins that fight viruses, may be a positive sign for people who have contracted the novel coronavirus.
No one has antibodies to fight the new coronavirus until they are exposed and their bodies develop a defense system. Research remains inconclusive about how long that defense lasts or if it protects someone from a second wave of the virus. Regardless, testing for the antibodies can indicate whether a person has had the virus in the past and could be less susceptible to it in the future.
In an effort to be proactive in monitoring the health of first responders, Upper Pine River Fire Protection has conducted antibody testing for its entire crew of staff and volunteers. While none of the crew members has been exposed to the virus, the testing established both a valuable baseline and a note of caution.
“One of the things we’re trying to do is as much testing as possible to make sure that first responders are not infectious when they show up at someone’s house for a 911 call,” said Bruce Evans, Upper Pine fire chief.
Some crew members thought they already had the disease, but the district could not know for sure because of the testing shortage in January and February. They decided to do antibody testing to get more clarity.
“It was initially so that we can get ... a baseline for everybody,” Evans said.
The newly developed test identifies who might have antibody protection against the virus and who is more susceptible. It’s a snapshot in time: The results indicate exposure over the previous 30 to 60 days. The test also provides an extra layer of security for crew members returning to work after exposure to the virus.
The district saw the test as a way to possibly help with treatment for COVID-19 patients. One preliminary form of treatment takes blood plasma from someone who has antibodies against the disease and gives it to critically ill patients, Evans said.
“That’s been shown to have some efficacy in turning critical patients around,” he said.
Evans said he thought Upper Pine was the first district in the region to do antibody testing. Upper Pine bought 40 tests for crew members and an additional 100 tests for employees’ families. The district also purchased 20 COVID-19 symptom tests. In total, the tests cost about $600.
“I think you’re going to see more firefighters, paramedics, EMTs and law enforcement using these kits,” he said, particularly because the International Association of Fire Chiefs partnered with another company to supply first responders with antibody tests.
“At this point, any test they can come up with to identify the COVID-19 virus ... is going to really help with mitigating the spread,” said Jon Haner, a firefighter/paramedic with the district. “If we don’t know where it’s at, it’s hard to deal with it.”
The test comes in a little foil packet and includes a small vial with a reagent in it. Essentially, people draw blood with a finger stick and put the blood in the vial. The blood and reagent mixture goes into a cartridge that looks like a pregnancy test.
Ten minutes later, crew members saw one blue line if they were negative or two blue lines if they were positive for antibodies.
“I would rather have had some antibodies built up,” said Steven Bradford, a firefighter/paramedic with the district. His family had some mild symptoms earlier in the year.
“I was personally hoping it would’ve been (the coronavirus),” he said.
Haner also had some flu-like symptoms in early January.
“If that had come up as a positive test for protection against the new virus, that would’ve been good news,” he said.
smullane@durangoherald.com
