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Total antibodies in 19 days
The authors write: “We reported acute antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in 285 patients with COVID-19. Within 19 days of symptom onset, 100% of patients tested positive for antiviral immunoglobulin G (IgG Seroconversion for IgG and IgM occurred simultaneously or sequentially. IgG and IgM titres reached the plateau within 6 days of seroconversion. Serological tests may be useful in diagnosing suspected patients with negative RT-results. PCR and for the identification of asymptomatic infections “.
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It is not enough to know if we are immune
So, 100% of the treated patients developed the antibodies that turn out to be the “memory” of our body to the infection (IgG) and also those that indicate the first response to the virus attack (IgM). Another step will be to understand (with further studies) whether IgGs are also protective and for how long. Now, if someone has antibodies, they can take a sample to find out if they are still infectious (HERE we explain why tampons are also needed) and one day we could understand when and if it will be immune. “Today’s study is important, because it tells us that those who have had an infection develop antibodies, which someone questioned because of the recurrences. But now we must ensure that they are protective and long-term. However, the news is good, even from a vaccine perspective, “said ISS director of infectious disease department Gianni Rezza.” Good news: Although in varying amounts, patients recovered from COVID-19 produce antibodies. against the virus. This is good because it makes the serological diagnosis reliable and, if the antibodies are protective, it promises good immunity, “writes the virologist Roberto Burioni on Twitter.
Do the antibodies protect us?
As stated, this is good news and we now need to understand two other fundamental factors: whether the antibodies we develop are also “neutralizing” and, if expected, how long they will last. For the first question, more research is being done: it is necessary to verify in the laboratory whether the antibody binds to a specific protein (antigen) of the virus and then, if this happens, to understand whether this binding is strong enough not to allow more viruses to infect other cells. In analyzes we try to separate the antigen and the antibody to understand if we are on the right track. If the antibody is neutralized, it will act as a shield in the event of a new encounter with the virus.
How long is the protection?
The last step is to understand how long the immunity would last and for this it takes months, in the sense that it is necessary to check in a fixed way if those who have protective antibodies have kept them after a certain period of time. If Sars-Cov-2 behaved like the previous coronavirus, Sars-1, and Mers, protection should last at least 12-24 months.
They were not repeat offenders.
This work on antibodies is published simultaneously with another important one from the University of Seoul, who at a press conference in the National medical center Local explained that those cases that were considered “reinfections” were false positives. The researchers found that virus fragments and remnants that the body had eradicated in the past may have been the cause of the positivity of tests conducted days (and sometimes weeks) after the complete recovery of Covid-19. “More than 260 people tested positive for coronavirus after full recoveries days or weeks apart. We have little reason to believe that these are actual cases of Covid-19 reinfections or reactivations, tests are more likely to have detected traces of the virus DNA in the host organism because it was eradicated. ” Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) argue that the patients recovered that the positive results did not appear to be contagious and from the analyzes it appeared that it was not possible to detect live viruses in such situations. “
April 30, 2020 (change April 30, 2020 | 16:00)
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