FARAH - ULiège 
" As of today, one of the most promising therapeutic solutions against COVID-19 is the use of convalescent plasma. A subset of the antibodies present in this plasma are able to bind the surface proteins of the virus, chiefly the Spike (attachment) protein, and to neutralize the ability of viral particles to infect permissive cells. Upon request of the Red Cross and ULiège CHU hospital, we developed seroneutralization assays to determine the titers in neutralizing antibodies of convalescent plasma. In collaboration with KU Leuven (Rega) and ITM Antwerp, we just completed an interlaboratory ring test. We screen convalescent plasmas on a routine basis for the Croix Rouge and Rode Kruis. Only plasmas with a titer in neutralizing antibodies above the cut-off value will be used therapeutically. The scarcity of the scientific literature on the subject (only a few studies on the therapeutic use of convalescent plasmas are currently available) make it difficult to fix a cut-off value on the basis of scientific arguments. To help in determining an appropriate cut-off value, we established a hamster model of infection, which will permit to assess the antiviral efficiency of plasmas with various titers in neutralizing antibodies. "
Contact: Mutien Garigliany, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ECVP Professor Department of Pathology Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Centre for Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH) Liège Université Quartier Vallée 2 Avenue de Cureghem 6 (B43) B-4000 Liège (Belgium) Phone: +3243664075 e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.farah.ulg.ac.be/