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Coronavirus: Slovenia, only one in 30 exposed to virus
Study, 2-4% with antibodies, similar results in Czechia
06 May, 18:58
(ANSA) - BELGRADE, 06 MAG - Only one person out of 30 in
Slovenia may have been exposed to coronavirus in the previous
months, the results of a new nationwide study made public today
show.
For the research, first of this type in Slovenia and led by the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, 1,368 people were tested with nasal swabs and for immune response with a blood sample, the Slovenian news agency STA reported. Out of the total sample, representative of the entire population, 41 persons (3.1%) had antibodies in their blood, two tested positive.
"Given that the sample was representative of the entire population, researchers can say with 95% certainty that 2-4% of the population had had an immune response to Covid-19," STA clarified. Miroslav Petrovec, head of the Institute that lead the research, cautioned that people with antibodies are not necessarily immune to Covid-19. People that took part in the study will be remotely monitored every two weeks in the next six months and will be retested in October.
The 2-4% rate of population with an immune response for Covid-19 is "too small to be able to conclude that the virus will not spread if returns, to prevent the virus spreading we need at least 60 to 70% of people to have been infected," Mateja Logar, a doctor of the Ljubljana UKC jospital, told the Slovenian television on Tuesday, when some of the main results of the study were disclosed.
A similar study carried out in the Czech Republic has produced similar results than the one performed in Slovenia. Out of 26,549 people tested in a research in Czechia, only 107 were found positive, with an estimated 4-5% of the population with some kind of immunity response, local media reported on Wednesday.
More than 1,400 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 99 deaths were reported in Slovenia as of May 6, while Czechia recorded almost 7,900 cases, 258 deaths. (ANSA).
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For the research, first of this type in Slovenia and led by the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, 1,368 people were tested with nasal swabs and for immune response with a blood sample, the Slovenian news agency STA reported. Out of the total sample, representative of the entire population, 41 persons (3.1%) had antibodies in their blood, two tested positive.
"Given that the sample was representative of the entire population, researchers can say with 95% certainty that 2-4% of the population had had an immune response to Covid-19," STA clarified. Miroslav Petrovec, head of the Institute that lead the research, cautioned that people with antibodies are not necessarily immune to Covid-19. People that took part in the study will be remotely monitored every two weeks in the next six months and will be retested in October.
The 2-4% rate of population with an immune response for Covid-19 is "too small to be able to conclude that the virus will not spread if returns, to prevent the virus spreading we need at least 60 to 70% of people to have been infected," Mateja Logar, a doctor of the Ljubljana UKC jospital, told the Slovenian television on Tuesday, when some of the main results of the study were disclosed.
A similar study carried out in the Czech Republic has produced similar results than the one performed in Slovenia. Out of 26,549 people tested in a research in Czechia, only 107 were found positive, with an estimated 4-5% of the population with some kind of immunity response, local media reported on Wednesday.
More than 1,400 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 99 deaths were reported in Slovenia as of May 6, while Czechia recorded almost 7,900 cases, 258 deaths. (ANSA).
