Roche test: What is the new antibody test approved by UK officials and when will it be available?

Public Health England approved use of screening method to detect past infection this week

A medical worker shows an antibody rapid serological test for Covid-19, on 6 May, 2020 (AFP via Getty Images)

A new test that could be able to determine if you have already had coronavirus could be rolled out in the UK within a matter of weeks.

But what is it, when will it actually be available, and how reliable is it at detecting coronavirus?

What is it?

The new test is a blood test developed by Swiss Pharmaceutical company Roche and it can tell whether someone has already had coronavirus.

The Roche test involves taking a small blood sample and testing it for antibodies that become present after a person has fought off the disease.

Public Health England, the government's executive agency for health and social care, has approved the new test as being safe and reliable for widespread use.

Is it reliable?

The test has a 100 per cent success rate in determining if a person has coronavirus, according to a statement by Roche, making it very reliable.

If someone had not caught coronavirus then it gave the correct result more than 99.8% of the time.

This means that the test has 100 per cent sensitivity and there very low risk of false positives.

The tests have previously been approved in the US and sources told the BBC the Roche test was the first one to offer serious potential.

How is it different from the tests we're already doing?

The current method of testing being undertaken at hospitals and testing centres use swab samples and can only tell if a person is currently infected with the virus.

The antibody test, however, uses a small sample of blood that will determine whether you have previously been infected with the virus.

When can I get it?

The government has said that when tests become available those on the front line such as NHS workers and social care settings will be prioritised.

Downing Street says the test will be available on the NHS, according to Sky News. However, the UK is still in commercial talks with Roche over supplying the tests.

“We are working closely with the NHS, public health bodies and the UK government to enable the roll out of our test across the UK as soon as possible,” Roche said in a statement.

“We will be able to provide hundreds of thousands of antibody tests to the UK per week.”

Will it tell me if I’ve had the virus even if I haven’t had symptoms?

The new test can identify people who have had coronavirus even if they haven’t had any symptoms of the virus,

Research has shown that many people who contract the disease may not even know they are infected and experience mild symptoms or none at all.

However, the government's deputy chief medical officer cautioned that it could take up to 28 days after someone is infected before the test can properly confirm if a person did have the virus.

Why is it important?

Officials have stressed the importance of implementing a reliable antibody test since the outbreak began in the UK.

Boris Johnson previously heralded that the development of an accurate antibody test would be a “game-changer”, but previous tests have proved unreliable.

Testing which individuals in the population have already had the virus allows the government to see who may have already built up a natural immunity to the disease.

This could be very useful in building herd immunity and determining who is safely able to return back to society.

“It’s clearly an important breakthrough,” government spokesman James Slack said on Thursday.

Additional reporting by agencies.