月内にも抗体検査実施　数千人対象、保有率調査―新型コロナの感染実態把握・厚労省

　新型コロナウイルスの感染歴を調べる抗体検査について、厚生労働省が月内にも実施する方向で準備を進めていることが２２日、分かった。同ウイルスは感染者の約８割が無症状か軽症とされ、抗体保有率を調べることで感染者全体の推計や流行状況の把握につなげる。
　同省などによると、検査は数千人を無作為に抽出して実施する見通し。今年度補正予算案に関連経費約２億円を盛り込んでいる。
　抗体は、体内に侵入したウイルスから体を守るために作られるタンパク質で、採取した血液を検査して過去に感染したかどうかを調べる。（2020/04/22-21:09）

Japan's health ministry is preparing to conduct antibody tests later this month to investigate the extent of the spread of the novel coronavirus, it was learned Wednesday.
   The tests are expected to help estimate the total number of infected people and how much the virus has spread, as some 80 pct of carriers of the virus are thought to show only mild or even no symptoms, sources said.
   The ministry plans to randomly sample several thousand people for the tests, the sources said. Around 200 million yen is earmarked for the project under the government's draft supplementary budget for the fiscal year that started this month.
   Antibodies are proteins created to protect the body from invading viruses. It is possible to check whether someone has been infected with a specific virus in the past by testing their blood for antibodies.
   Meanwhile, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are used to check whether someone is infected with a virus at the moment. Concerns have been raised that the full extent of the coronavirus virus spread has not been grasped as the number of PCR test cases is not catching up with the speed of the outbreak.