Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have confirmed the first instance of a patient being re-infected with a coronavirus a second time, suggesting that immunity to the virus may be short-lived. The 33-year-old patient tested positive for the virus in March and again in August after returning to Hong Kong from a trip to Spain. But that’s not all bad news; This man’s case shows that the immune response, while not able to completely get rid of another infection, may be strong enough to prevent a second less serious illness.
Since the onset of the epidemic, their patients in the United States, China and South Korea have claimed that their patients have tested positive for the virus again after recovering. These accounts were a bizarre one and the case was never confirmed as two separate infections; They can result in a recurrence of the original infection or a misdiagnosis.
But this case is different from Hong Kong. It is the first proven case of refraction as the genetic index shows that the patient had two different strains of the virus in March and August Gust. Researchers in Hong Kong said the patient was contracted for a second time and the strain was circulating in Europe in July and August.
“The difference here is that doctors were able to tell the virus twice in sequence that these are actually two different infections. And we don’t have that information, “explains Dr. Dara Cass, a medical contributor to Yahoo News. You will have a slightly different presentation depending on where the infection comes from. “
But experts have warned to jump to conclusions about the study.
“We need to put it in this context,” said World Health Organization’s COVID-19 response technology pioneer Dr. Maria Van Kerkov told about the study in Hong Kong During the live Q&A On wednesday
“I want to repeat. This is an example of 23.5 million cases so far. ”
The WHO and others also emphasize that these findings should not be at all shocking. Since the early days of the epidemic, the WHO has reiterated that precautions such as wearing masks and social distance should still be taken by people who have recovered from the virus, and “there is currently no evidence that people have recovered from Covid-1.” And antibodies are protected against other infections. ”
Subsequent studies have also shown that the form of immunity can be short-lived by antibodies (proteins that help fight infection, run in blood plasma). A UK study published on 11 July, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that antibodies to Covid-19 may begin to decline 20 to 30 days after the onset of symptoms. And a Chinese study published in June found that within two to three months after infection, antibody levels in patients who recovered from Covid-19 dropped rapidly.
(There is another level of immunity in the form of white blood cells, which lasts longer. Research on this is ongoing.)
“We need people to understand that it’s not really a surprise to anyone in the medical community and how you behave shouldn’t change,” Case said of the Hong Kong study’s results. “Masks, social distance and washing your hands is the best defense against any coronavirus, even if it doesn’t cause stress.”
Case noted that in the family of coronaviruses, immunity is usually temporary and lifelong immunity was not likely to be acquired by infection alone.
“Think about the common cold,” he says. “We know that people have recovered from the virus and are recovering – usually not as severe, perhaps with some protection from previous exposure.”
This was more true than the patient observed in the Hong Kong study. The first 33-year-old had mild symptoms, including coughing, fever, and sore throat for several days during her first infection, but was asymptomatic the second time she became infected.
Not involved in the study, Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, told the New York Times that “their immune response prevented the disease from getting worse.” “This is a textbook example of how immunity should work.”
“It’s important,” Case said, adding that the Hong Kong patient had no symptoms of being infected with the virus a second time. “We need to remember that this may mean that the immune system is incomplete, but it is better than never being infected in the first place.”
But this scenario may not be in a position with all refractions. In a study published Thursday by researchers at the University of Nevada, researchers at the Reno School of Medicine and the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory, U.S. The first case of recurrence has been identified in and in this case the patient’s symptoms of the second infection were more severe than the first.
The results of this study are likely to indicate how the coronavirus vaccine will be developed and administered. Immunity may not survive, so multiple doses of the vaccine may be needed to boost or maintain immunity.
The possibility of immunity and immunity as a possible remedy for the immune system, with even more holes in the notion of the immunity of the experimental power as a possible solution to the epidemic.
“This reflection shows us that it is probably not a viable strategy,” the Cass mob says of immunity. “In fact, it was probably never a practical strategy, because if a natural infection doesn’t last long, and more importantly, if you have a lot of strains of the virus that can infect you, then the bunch is immune, a natural immune system.” Shakti, who does not really have legs. “
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