Croatia ramps up serological testing for COVID-19

ZAGREB, May 11 (Hina) – The Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ) has launched serological testing that is expected to determine the percentage of Croatians who have been infected with the novel coronavirus, says the Jutarnji List daily issue on Monday.

The testing covers 1,100 blood samples collected from hospital laboratories, clinics and public health institutes.

“The ELISA test is a serological diagnostic test which shows in the patient’s serum individual classes of antibodies such as IgM, IgG and IgA. Depending on the antibodies found, it is possible to say if the infection is acute or a recent one. If a person has antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, it means that they have developed immunity but we do not know much about the duration of the immunity because this is a new virus,” said Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek of the HZJZ.

Serological tests have also been conducted in other EU countries, and the findings in the Czech Republic and Slovenia show that in those countries between 2 and 5 percent of the population has been infected with the virus, says Jutarnji List.