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Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US have developed a new saliva-based test that can accurately detect the presence of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.
According to the researchers, results can be obtained in hours from small samples of saliva.
The saliva-based test serves as a possible substitute for antibody testing of blood samples for research and clinical use.
Based on SARS-CoV-2 antigens, mainly its outer peak and nucleocapsid proteins, the test analyzes the collected saliva sample by rubbing a sponge between people’s teeth and gums.
The initial study showed that the test detected antibodies against several of these antigens in the saliva samples of the 24 participants who had confirmed exposure to SARS-CoV-2. They have also developed symptoms two weeks before the test.
Additionally, the saliva-based test returned negative results for samples collected from people prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bloomberg School Associate Professor of Engineering, Epidemiology and Environmental Health Christopher Heaney said: “If the accuracy of our saliva analysis is confirmed in larger studies, this non-invasive approach could facilitate the identification, at the population level, who have already had a SARS-CoV-2 infection and where gaps in seropositivity persist, heading into winter and beyond.
“This could inform targeted vaccination efforts and, after vaccines begin to roll out, help determine how long vaccine-induced antibodies last, all without repeated and invasive blood draws.”
The researchers noted that the test can reliably detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, starting about ten days after Covid-19 symptoms appear, but not before.
Previously, the team developed a saliva-based test to detect antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 using a panel of 12 known viral antigens already used for blood antibody tests.
Additionally, Heaney and his team have invented accurate saliva-based antibody tests for other viruses that cause disease, such as the enteric pathogen norovirus and the hepatitis E virus that infects the liver.
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