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As a majority of the world collectively holds its breath waiting for COVID-19 vaccinations, indirect protective measures such as social distancing and wearing of masks have been keeping people out of the coronavirus' grasp. Furthermore, the development of antibodies in individuals that have successfully beaten the virus has also served as an 'antivirus' protection for themselves and those around them.

But with that said, there has been constant speculation on just how long these antibodies and the overall immunity against COVID-19 lasts in the human system. The clouds of mystery pertaining to this particular question continue to govern scientists, virologists, and researchers. Thus far, several studies have suggested that the antibodies against the infection may wane in just a few months after recovery, thereby raising concerns of contracting the infection more than once.

Now, a team of scientists from the Monash University in Australia has given the world a Christmas gift through their new study, which has indicated that immunity against COVID-19 can last for at least eight months. The research is all the more significant at the moment, when vaccines are still in their rollout phases.

"This has been a black cloud hanging over the potential protection that could be provided by any COVID-19 vaccine, and gives real hope that once a vaccine or vaccines are developed, they will provide long-term protection," said immunologist Menno van Zelm from Monash University.

The new study specifically took into account a type of cells in our immune system known as the memory B cells or MBC. These cells function to remember any infection that the human body contracts after being invaded by a pathogen, say virus. Therefore, if an individual contracts the virus again, MBC functions to trigger a protective immune response through its memory, and thus shields an individual from re-infection.

To understand the presence of memory cells, the team chased two main components of the SARS-CoV-2 virusthe spike and the nucleocapsid proteins. The study noted that the memory B cells were rapidly generated in all the patients following the infection, and remained detectable after 240 days. This very extended presence of the memory cells showcases a long-term immune response to COVID-19. It also highlights the fact that a patients immune system has the ability to fight when re-exposed to the pathogen by the rapid production of antibodies.

"These results are important because they show, definitively, that patients infected with the COVID-19 virus do in fact retain immunity against the virus and the disease," said Dr van Zelm.

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Interestingly, the study also ascertained that even after months of virus spread, during which millions of positive infections have been found, there have not been many reported cases of re-infections among the population across the globe.

A similar study was recently published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, which also confirmed the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 after 8 months of infection in most asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients. The study was conducted using the immunoassays test on 58 positive patients.

When attacked by a pathogen, our immune system produces proteins called antibodies in order to fight the infection. If the infected person can produce sufficient antibodies, he can recover from the disease caused by that pathogen.

To examine how long these antibodies last in case of COVID-19, researchers monitored about 25 people diagnosed with different severities of the disease, and then collected post-infection blood samples from themstarting from day 4 to day 242 after recovery. On the other hand, they also obtained data from 36 healthy control patients between March to September, so as to compare each patient's antibody presence and levels of virus-specific immune cells.

After examining this long period data, the researchers noted that the antibodies against COVID-19especially immunoglobulin (IgG), which is the most common antibody in the human bodystarted to fade in just 20 days post-infection, just like the previous studies had suggested.

Earlier, a similar research conducted by the Chongqing Medical University in China had also suggested that people who have recovered from COVID-19 showcased a sharp decline of up to 90% in their Immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies within the time frame of 2-3 months.

The new research is a collaborative work between Monash University, The Alfred Hospital, and the Burnet Institute in Melbourne. The study was published in the journal Science Immunology on December 22, and can be accessed here.

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Immunity Against COVID-19 Post Recovery May Last for At Least 8 Months, Suggests New Study | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel |...

This entry was posted on December 26, 2020 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Immune System. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |