The coronavirus was expected to tear through the vulnerable population of Vancouver’s impoverished Downtown Eastside. That didn’t happen, and now a B.C. medical sleuth is trying to find out why. The results of antibody testing could provide new insight into the pandemic.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada mid-March, health experts feared Vancouver’s impoverished Downtown Eastside would be decimated — the coronavirus expected to tear through its vulnerable population.
That didn’t happen, and now a B.C. medical sleuth is trying to find out why only a handful of residents have tested positive for the virus in one of Canada’s poorest neighbourhoods.
It’s a medical mystery given there are an estimated 15,000 people crammed into 30 square blocks around Vancouver’s infamous Main and Hastings intersection.
Many residents have mental health issues, are infected with HIV or hepatitis C, and have compromised immune systems.
The answer to the apparent low infection count could benefit all Canadians in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus, says Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre.
“The thrill of the chase is exciting,” says Conway. “The more we learn, the more we will be able to help.”
‘Pop-up clinics’ test for antibodies
Conway has launched a series of free community “pop-up clinics” to test blood for telltale coronavirus antibodies among Downtown Eastside (DTES) residents.
Antibodies are formed when a person’s body attempts to fight off infection.
They are an indication that the individual was, at some point, infected with the virus, even if there were no symptoms of illness or only mild symptoms.
Conway says if antibodies are found in a large percentage of volunteer test subjects, that would mean the virus has been more common in the Downtown Eastside than previously thought.
Symptoms of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, could have been masked by underlying health and addiction issues.
“It is possible that certain cases were missed since opioid withdrawal might look a little bit like an acute [coronavirus] infection,” Conway said. “So we want to just make sure that we understand exactly what happened in that community since the middle of March.”