亚利桑那州马里科帕县十分之一的居民患有冠状病毒，根据县卫生部门做的抗体检测。
美国卫生部本周报告称，亚利桑那州立大学马里科帕县公共卫生部和疾病控制和预防中心进行的为期11天的血清调查结果显示，47万名居民感染了新冠肺炎病毒。
血清学测试分析患者血液中的抗体，让卫生官员更好地了解病毒是如何在社区中传播的。这些测试提供了以前感染的信息，这些人可能没有什么症状或没有症状。
官员们估计，马里科帕县报告的每一例新冠肺炎病例中，未报告的病例多达4倍，这意味着该县的真实感染率可能高于此前的预期。
然而，该县10.7%的冠状病毒抗体不足以提供所谓的群体免疫，即当病毒找不到新的感染者时，因为有足够多的人对其免疫。
“我们估计，大约40%到80%的人口需要接种新冠肺炎疫苗才能达到群体免疫，”县卫生部门执行主任马西·弗拉纳根说在一份声明中说。
她说:“我们都必须正确、始终如一地戴着口罩，身体上与他人保持距离，洗手，避开人群，以帮助减缓新冠肺炎病毒的传播，这一点至关重要。”。
测试还发现，导致大多数感染的是密切接触者，而不是陌生人。弗拉纳根补充说，这些发现强调了一旦有人被诊断出患有新冠肺炎病并被隔离在家时，将家庭成员分开是多么重要。
菲尼克斯市所在的马里科帕县是该州新冠肺炎病例最多的县。截至周三，亚利桑那州报告了283，102例感染和6，365例死亡，根据亚利桑那州卫生服务部的数据。
Antibody tests show COVID-19 rate in Arizona county much higher than expected
One in 10 residents in Maricopa County, Arizona, has hadcoronavirus, according to antibody testing done by the the county health department.
The results of the 11-day serosurvey conducted by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, Arizona State University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 470,000 residents had been infected with COVID-19, the health department reported this week.
Serology tests, which analyze patients' blood for antibodies, give health officials a better understanding of how the virus is spreading in a community over time. The tests provide information about previous infections in individuals who may have had few symptoms or been asymptomatic.
For every COVID-19 case that was reported in Maricopa County, officials estimate that there were up to four times as many cases that went unreported, meaning the county's true infection rate is likely higher than previously thought.
However, 10.7% of the county having coronavirus antibodies is not a high enough threshold to offer what's known as herd immunity, which is when the virus can't find new people to infect because enough people are immune to it.
"We estimate that somewhere between 40% and 80% of the population would need to be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine to reach herd immunity,” Marcy Flanagan, executive director of the county health departmentsaid in a statement.
"It’s critical that we all wear face masks correctly and consistently, physically distance from others, wash our hands and avoid large groups of people to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” she said.
The testing also found that close contacts, not strangers, drove the majority of infections. The findings emphasize how important it is to separate household members once someone receives a COVID-19 diagnosis and is in isolation at home, Flanagan added.
Maricopa County, which encompasses the city of Phoenix, has reported the most COVID-19 cases of any county in the state. As of Wednesday, Arizona had reported 283,102 infections and 6,365 deaths,according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
