HOW LONG DOES IMMUNITY LAST AFTER INFECTION? Great research by Serbian scientists brings great news



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More than 15,000 people were tested in the laboratories of the Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy (INEP), but not all of them tested positive for the coronavirus.

His latest research shows that patients who have tested positive for the corona virus will likely be immune to the disease for a year.

– Antibodies will last between a year and a year and a half, that’s kind of an assumption. What we do know is that for seven months, the longer we monitor patients, these antibodies survive in the body, that in patients who have developed high levels of antibodies there is no sudden drop in value, they drop between 5 and 1 10 percent and therefore it is assumed that it will last at least a year – said Marija Gnjatović, associate scientist at INEP.

He also spoke about antibodies in asymptomatic patients.

– There are patients in whom the antibodies disappear, that is, measurable amounts of antibodies disappear, they are asymptomatic patients or those who have a mild clinical picture and who initially developed low levels of antibodies that have decreased over time, therefore they cannot be measured, but certainly these patients are protected in some way – he explained.

As he pointed out, antibodies are one of the parameters of the immune system that participates in defense.

– There are other immune cells that remember contact with the pathogen, in this case with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, so there is some type of protection and if there is re-exposure to the virus, our body will react faster and more more efficient and he will overcome it – said Gnjatović.

A few days ago the application of the rapid antigen test was adopted in the Crisis Staff session. According to Gnjatović, this is a test that detects virus proteins, which is in fact a complement to the PCR test.

Dr. Marija Gnjatović / Photo: Printscreen

– It cannot be better than the PCR test, but it can be used for mass testing of a much larger number of samples. On the other hand, when the period in which the virus is in the upper respiratory tract passes, when PCR or a rapid antigen test can confirm the presence of the virus, serological tests are applied, that is, to from two weeks after the first symptoms. The gold standard in the application of serological tests is the helix test, which was carried out by the INEP institute. We are doing tests at personal request – adds Gnjatović.

As he said, many people have a class of IgG antibodies, never feeling clear symptoms, and believe that when asymptomatic cases feel some kind of fatigue or headache, they do not prescribe it for the coronavirus.

– The ImG class of antibodies is detected in the acute phase of infection and the test can be an adjunct to the PCR method. The IgM class appears very quickly because the patient is infected, if we only find that class in the blood, it means that he is very infected and that he can spread the virus more, says Gnjatović.

He adds that asymptomatic cases represent the biggest problem in the spread of infection, because if the symptoms are clear, they will be isolated.

When it comes to the IgG class of antibodies, they provide protection against immunity to the virus and are permanent, and are detected up to 10 days after the appearance of the virus and remain as a detective, but how long is not yet known.

– I recommend to do serological tests, not to make crowds for PCR tests. To do a serological test of the IgM antibody class and based on the appearance of antibodies, the infection phase can be monitored, the recommendation is certainly a massive test, but not PCR, but serological tests – he points out.

He added that the PCR test in the first few days can be false negative, as well as after two weeks because the virus is not in the upper respiratory tract.

Crown test

Gnjatović also said that INEP is working on developing a test that would detect the presence of the virus from saliva.

“That would allow easier testing for children in schools and kindergartens who do not donate blood, but are still in the process of development,” he announced.

When it comes to cases of reinfection of the corona with the virus, Gnjatović believes that these cases are not well defined.

– To me, it seems like a first untreated infection or other covid. Something similar to chronic covid. It stays in the body for a long time, as measured by IgM antibodies. IgM in others goes away after a couple of weeks, they stay here for months after that. Patients feel the symptoms and have a prolonged clinical picture, improvement, so they return to have a feeling of fatigue, headache or stomach problem – concluded.

(Flash)

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