A Blog by Jonathan Low

 

Oct 13, 2020

20 Percent Of Chicago Residents Test Positive For Covid Antibodies - Much Higher Than Anticipated

3% of the city's population have been confirmed as having had Covid. 

The much higher number from this test suggests that projections of much higher infection rates are probably accurate - and that the likelihood increases of catching the virus when living in a household with someone who has had it. JL

 Hal Dardick reports in the Chicago Tribune:

1 in 5 Chicago residents who sent blood-spot samples to Northwestern University researchers tested positive for antibodies to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study. That 20% infection rate is higher than the scientists anticipated. In the city as a whole, 83,074 confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported - 3% of the city’s 2.7 million people. The infection rate climbed dramatically when people in the study were living in a home with someone who had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Nearly 1 in 5 Chicago residents who sent blood-spot samples to Northwestern University researchers tested positive for antibodies to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study.

That 20% infection rate is higher than the scientists anticipated based on earlier research, said Dr. Elizabeth McNally, director of the Center for Genetic Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. One study by other Northwestern researchers tested hospital workers from across the Chicago region and found antibodies in less than 5%.

The latest project, called Screening for Coronavirus Antibodies in Neighborhoods, or SCAN, is examining infection rates in five pairs of adjoining Chicago ZIP codes where rates of previously reported COVID-19 cases differed widely. Though the research is continuing, McNally said enough testing has been done to draw some initial conclusions.

“It’s telling us that exposure was higher than we thought, that it was higher than we thought throughout Chicago,” McNally said.

The researchers noted that the SCAN team is using a particularly sensitive test for COVID-19 antibodies and therefore is likely identifying more exposures than others have found. The Northwestern researchers who tested hospital workers, for example, used a different antibody test.

“Those commercial tests are missing maybe 25% of people ... whereas ours don’t,” McNally said.

In the ongoing study, participants mail in a drop of dried blood to the researchers, who then test it for the COVID-19 antibodies. It’s an inexpensive option that doesn’t require visiting a medical facility.

The SCAN study, launched in late June, set out to test about 3,000 people in 10 Chicago ZIP codes, and so far more than 1,000 tests have been analyzed, McNally said. Researchers are finding some differences in exposure rates among the ZIP codes but said they need to gather more test results before reaching any conclusions.

In the city as a whole, 83,074 confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported as of Thursday, or about 3% of the city’s 2.7 million people. The true number of people infected, however, is certainly far larger.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that was based on antibody testing concluded that actual COVID-19 infection rates were at least 10 times higher than the official reported case count in most locations around the country.

Official counts are based on tests that detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. That type of testing can’t identify people whose infections have cleared. In addition, many infected people never get tested because they had no symptoms, had less severe symptoms or couldn’t access a test.

The National Institutes of Health has stated that a positive antibody test result "indicates previous infection.”

The antibody tests detect disease-fighting proteins that the body develops specifically to attack SARS-CoV-2. Those antibodies tend to persist for months or perhaps years in people who had a prior infection, although it’s not known exactly how long.

Another study by researchers on the SCAN team looked at infection rates among workers at the university’s Feinberg School of Medicine, who live in many Chicago and suburban locales. That study, which included workers who do not interact directly with patients, also found rates of about 20%, which McNally said appears to support the idea that the percentage of people affected is similar throughout the Chicago region.

Using the same sensitive antibody test, the researchers also conducted an earlier study of 232 people, most of whom lived with a health care worker. Of those, 30 lived with someone who was previously diagnosed with COVID-19.

That study, which has already been peer reviewed and published, found that, of the 202 people who had no previous diagnosis of COVID-19 and did not live in a home with a previously identified case, 36% had antibodies to the disease. That higher rate was not unexpected, given that so many health care workers were involved in the study.

They also found the infection rate climbed dramatically when people in the study were living in a home with someone who had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Among the 30 who had no prior diagnosis but were living with someone who did, 80% had antibodies, according to that study.

In addition to completing the testing on the 10 Chicago ZIP codes, the SCAN study is now being expanded to other parts of Chicago and suburban Cook County, McNally said. Researchers are still looking for participants.

There also are further questions to explore as the study continues to follow and research the people it has already tested.

“The $64 million question here is really, ‘Why do some people get so sick when exposed to this?'” McNally said, noting that genetics, diet, sleep habits, stress and other illnesses could play a role. “That’s what we have to answer.”

Researchers plan to ask study participants who had the antibodies to be tested repeatedly in the coming months to see how long those antibodies last and how well the antibodies protect people from subsequent infection.

It is thought that antibodies likely offer protection against reinfection, but many questions remain unanswered. Those include what level of antibodies are necessary and how long they last in people’s bodies.

“The most concerning thing” discovered so far, McNally said, is the number of folks tested who turned out to have had a prior infection but were unaware of that fact.

“They could be spreading it and not know they have it,” she said. “It shows how clever the virus is. And yet the solution that helps a whole lot is really quite easy: It’s called wearing a mask.”

2 comments:

Robert Earl said...

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR HARD EARNED FUNDS TO THE WRONG HANDS?
MEET THE PROFESSIONAL HACKERS FOR HIRE TODAY.
⏱️ 3min Read
📁 Hiring a professional hacker has been one of the world's most technical valued navigating information.
Regarding:
•Recovery Of Lost Funds,
•Mobile Phone Hack.(Catching A Cheating Spouse).
•Credit Score Upgrade,
VARIOUS HACKTIVITIES via
leroysteckler@gmail.com
High prolific information and Priviledges comes rare as it has been understood that what people do not see, they will never know. The affirmative ability to convey a profitable information Systematically is the majoy factor to success.
Welcome to the Global KOS hacking agency where every request on hacking related issues are fixed within a short period of time.
When you wonder “which hacking company should I hire, the first aspect that should concern you is Sincerity. Secondly, Rapid response. Clearly, you want to embark for services that povides swift response, With our astonishing Hackers, you will be glad to find out that our services Implies precision and action.
This post is definitely for those who are willing to turn their lives around for the better, either financial-wise, relationship-wise or businesses.
The manual Operation of this hackers is to potentially deploy a distinguished hacking techniques to penetrating computers.
If your shoe fits in any of the services below, you will be assigned to a designated professional hacker who is systematically known for operating on a dark web V-link protocol.
Providing value added services to clients as a hacker has been our sustaining goal.
Are you faced with cyber challenges like
💰Recovery of lost funds:✅(BITCOIN INVESTMENTS, BINARY OPTIONS, LOAN AND TRADING FOREX WITH FORGERY BROKERS.) 🖥️I would try my possible best to shortly explain this in particular.
This shocking study points to one harsh reality we all face today. It saddens our mind when client expresses annoyance or dissatisfaction of unethical behaviours of scammers. We have striven to make tenacious efforts to help those who are victims of this flees get off their traumatic feeling of loss. The cyber security technique used to retrieving back the victims stolen funds is the application of a diverse intercall XX breacher software enables you track the data location of a scammer. Extracting every informations on the con database. Every information required by the Global KOS would be used to tracking every transaction, time and location of the scammer. This is acheived using the systematic courier tracking base method•
However, there are secret cyber infiltrators called brokers and doom. The particular system used by this scammers permeates them to manupulate targets digital trading system or monetary fund based accounts. Strictly using a dark web rob to diverting successful trades into a negative outcome. This process bends to thier advantage while investors results to losing massive amount of money. An act of gaining access to an organization or databased system to cause damages. We have worked so hard to ensure our services gives you a 100% trading success to recover all your losses•
📲 HACKING A MOBILE PHONE:.✅ Do you think you are being cheated on? Curious to know what your lover is up to online? This type of hack helps you track every movement of your cheater as we are bent on helping you gain full remote access into the cheater's mobile phone using a Trojan breach cracking system to penetrate their social media platforms like Facebook, whatsapp, snapchat etc.
The company is large enough to provide comprehensive range of services such as•
• Email hacks📲
• Hacking of websites.📲
• Uber free payment hacks.📲
Our strength is based on the ability to help fix cyber problems by bringing together active cyber hacking professionals in the GlobalkOS to work with.
Contact:
✉️Email: theglobalkos@gmail.com
Leroysteckler@gmail.com
®Global KOS™
2020.

Post a Comment