Researchers will test the 40,000 for antibodies

Employees of Novo Nordisk and søstervirksomheder as well as their spouses and adult children will from this week be able to get to know if they have been infected with the coronavirus.

They are invited to submit a blood test that can show whether they have formed antibodies, and thus maybe are protected from being infected again.

In the course of the next year the scientists hope behind the project is to test up to 40,000 persons nine places in the country, among other things, in Aalborg, Hjørring, denmark, Kalundborg and in the metropolitan area.

It makes the study representative of the proportion of the population who are in work, says Peter Garred, who is a professor at the University of Copenhagen and chief physician at copenhagen university hospital

Participants come with different backgrounds, education and residing in different places in the country. It will give us an overview of how the spread of infection has been, he says.

- Since we are at the same time, their spouses and adult children, we get the knowledge of how the spread of infection has been in the family, says Peter Garred.

in addition to being smarter on the prevalence of antibodies the project shall try to show, on the previously infected become immune, and, where appropriate, continues to be it.

Therefore will the blood test be repeated in six months and again in a year.

At Copenhagen University know Allan Randrup Thomsen, professor in experimental virology, not the study. But he points out that the follow-up blood tests are essential, since the something new will be able to show how long the antibodies are in the body.

It can give an indication of the degree of protection, if there comes a second wave of Covid-19.

- so Far we have in Denmark only focused on how many in the population that has been infected. But it is also important to get to know when the level of antibodies decreases. Whether we are talking about months or years, says Allan Randrup Thomsen.

The preliminary experience to ask the Danish population to be antistoftestet shows a limited interest. In each case, when the invitation comes from the public.

Out of the 5200 citizens, who in may received an invitation in their E-boks to meet in one of the white testtelte, it is less than half, 2427, thanks yes, shows a note from the Statens Serum Institut.

According to Steffen Lüders, that the deputy director of Novo Nordisk, has provisionally 2600 employees embraced the opportunity.