Westmoreland sheriff uses antibody tests to screen deputies for coronavirus

Westmoreland County deputy sheriffs won’t have week-long waits to determine if they’ve been infected with the coronavirus.

Sheriff James Albert said Tuesday his office secured up to 50 rapid antibody tests that his staff will use as a diagnostic tool to determine the likelihood of exposure to the virus.

“As the pandemic intensified, we had deputies possibly exposed,” Albert said. “The first time it happened, we had seven who had to quarantine for two weeks. None had it, thank God, they were all negative.”

Potential exposures prompted not just health concerns but scheduling issues created by quarantines and testing lags of a week or more for results.

Albert said he recently learned about the availability of the rapid testing kits from the pharmacist wife of Deputy Chris Christner and bought two kits for $350 each to help identify potential cases of the virus without having to wait for more standard test results.

Christner is serving to administer the tests to staff.

The kits, manufactured by Texas-based Healgen Scientific, were given emergency use authorization in May by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Blood samples, collected by a finger prick, are tested with a reagent to determine if a person possesses antibodies developed after exposure to covid-19.

Results are revealed in about 10 minutes.

Health officials said the tests only measure if someone has in the past been exposed to the virus or is potentially currently infected.

Dr. David Lucas, chairman of Excela Health’s pathology department cautioned that results from antibody testing can be useful but not definitive to diagnosis of past infections.

“The gold standard is testing that is done in the lab,“ Lucas said.

“This is a test that can be used for peace of mind, but false negatives can happen.”

Four deputies, a judge and members of his staff who had contact with an infected jail inmate transported to the courthouse last week for a hearing were administered rapid tests last week in the sheriff’s office. All were found to have no antibodies for the virus.

Albert said the rapid testing will only serve as a screening devise. Anyone who tests positive will be sent to certified medical facilities for standard testing.

“If these kits find there is a positive or has had (the virus) in the past, they have to go to the doctor right away,” Albert said.

While the FDA has approved the rapid antibody tests for emergency use, the federal agency has yet to clear it for widespread application.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a fact sheet in May that advised against the use of antibody tests to clear infected employees to return to work.

Pennsylvania Department of Health spokesman Nate Wardle said the state recommends caution when using rapid testing.

“The department would like to see rapid tests become more accurate in order for them to be widely used.

There have been noted issues with their specificity and sensitivity, as seen in some incidents in other states,” Wardle said Tuesday in response to questions from the Tribune-Review. “We want to see as much testing in Pennsylvania as possible, but we need to be able to trust the results.”

Still, Albert said the ability to test staff and have quick results is vital to ensure deputies don’t have to needlessly quarantine.

“We are very pleased that we can get our deputies tested right away and quickly put them back on the job,” Albert said.