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Reports from Asia caused a sensation that patients who had already healed were again positive for the coronavirus. Is it possible that they weren’t immune after all? Can you contract the virus twice?
So far there is no clear answer. However, experts expect an infected patient to be immune for at least a few months after recovery. “Being immune means that the body has developed a defense reaction against a virus. And because this immune reaction has a “memory,” it means it then prevents infection with the same virus, “explains immunologist Eric Vivier of the Marseille University Hospital. In general, it takes about three weeks to generate enough protective antibodies. Experience has shown that this protection lasts for several months.
So far, the theory is, but the new Sars-CoV-2 is still too little investigated to be sure. A recent Chinese study with rhesus monkeys gives hope: Animals infected with the virus showed resistance a few weeks after their recovery. However, this study says nothing about the immunity period, because it only lasted a month.
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However, many experts are skeptical of reports from Asia that patients with the crown contracted a second infection. They think it is quite unlikely that it is actually a new infection. The coronavirus may also become chronic in some people, such as the herpes pathogen. A study published in early April with 175 Shanghai-cured patients shows that most of them had produced Covid-19 antibodies 10 to 15 days after the onset of lung disease caused by the virus, albeit at different concentrations.
“But whether the existence of antibodies can only be equated with immunity is another matter,” warns WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove. Given all these uncertainties, some experts also question the success of herd immunity. For Australian epidemiologist Archie Clements, one thing is certain: “The only real solution is a vaccine” (AFP)
