Serology

Serological tests may be performed to diagnose infections and autoimmune illnesses, to check if a person has immunity to certain diseases, and in many other situations, such as determining an individual's blood type.

[6] Serologic tests are especially useful for organisms that are difficult to culture by routine laboratory methods, like Treponema pallidum (the causative agent of syphilis), or viruses.

The person's blood group antibodies can also be identified by adding plasma to cells that express the corresponding antigen and observing the agglutination reactions.

[11] Serologic tests can help to diagnose autoimmune disorders by identifying abnormal antibodies directed against a person's own tissues (autoantibodies).

[citation needed] A 2016 research paper by Metcalf et al., amongst whom were Neil Ferguson and Jeremy Farrar, stated that serological surveys are often used by epidemiologists to determine the prevalence of a disease in a population.

In a helpful reply entitled "Opportunities and challenges of a World Serum Bank", de Lusignan and Correa observed[14] that the principal ethical and logistical challenges that need to be overcome are the methods of obtaining specimens, how informed consent is acquired in busy practices, and the filling in of gaps in patient sampling.In another helpful reply on the World Serum Bank, the Australian researcher Karen Coates declared that:[15] Improved serological surveillance would allow governments, aid agencies, and policy writers to direct public health resources to where they are needed most.

A better understanding of infection dynamics with respect to the changing patterns of global weather should inform policy measures including where to concentrate vaccination efforts and insect control measures.In April 2020, Justin Trudeau formed the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, whose mandate is to carry out a serological survey in a scheme hatched in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.