Reports from Asia caused a sensation, after which patients who had already been cured were again tested positive for the coronavirus. Is it possible that they weren’t immune after all? Can you catch the virus twice?
So far there is no clear answer. However, experts hope that an infected patient will 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 that it later prevents infection with the same virus, ”explains immunologist Eric Vivier from the University Hospital in Marseille. In general, it takes around 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 researched to be sure. A recent Chinese study with rhesus monkeys gives hope: the animals infected with the virus showed themselves to be resistant a few weeks after their recovery. However, this study says nothing about the period of immunity – because it only lasted one month.
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However, many experts are skeptical about the reports from Asia that corona patients contracted a second infection. They think it is rather unlikely that it is actually a new infection. The corona virus could also become chronic in some people, such as the herpes pathogen. A study published in early April with 175 healed patients from Shanghai shows that most of them had produced Covid-19 antibodies between ten and 15 days after the onset of the lung disease caused by the virus – albeit in different concentrations.
“But whether the existence of antibodies alone can be equated with immunity is another question,” warns WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove. Given all of these uncertainties, some experts are also questioning the success of herd immunity. For Australian epidemiologist Archie Clements, one thing is certain: “The only real solution is a vaccine.” (AFP)
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