Coronavirus: low antibody levels raise questions about reinfection risk

South China Morning Post ^ | 04/08/2020 | Stephen Chen

[SeekAndFind]

Researchers in Shanghai hope to determine whether some recovered coronavirus patients have a higher risk of reinfection after finding surprisingly low levels of Covid-19 antibodies in a number of people discharged from hospital.

A team from Fudan University analysed blood samples from 175 patients discharged from the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre and found that nearly a third had unexpectedly low levels of antibodies.

In some cases, antibodies could not be detected at all.

“Whether these patients were at high risk of rebound or reinfection should be explored in further studies,” the team wrote in preliminary research released on Monday on Medrxiv.org, an online platform for preprint papers.

Although the study was preliminary and not peer-reviewed, it was the world’s first systematic examination of antibody levels in patients who had recovered from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, the researchers said.

All of the patients had recently recovered from mild symptoms of the disease and most of those with low antibody levels were young. The researchers excluded patients who had been admitted to intensive care units because many of them already had antibodies from donated blood plasma.

Antibodies are generated by the immune system and have unique chemical structures to inhibit specific pathogens. The coronavirus antibody intercepts the spike protein on the viral envelope to prevent it from binding with human cells.

The researchers said they were surprised to find that the antibody “titer” value in about a third of the patients was less than 500, a level that might be too low to provide protection.

“About 30 per cent of patients failed to develop high titers of neutralising antibodies after Covid-19 infection. However, the disease duration of these patients compared to others was similar," they said.

[SeekAndFind]

The team also found that antibody levels rose with age, with people in the 60-85 age group displaying more than three times the amount of antibodies as people in the 15-39 age group.

The low amounts of antibodies could affect herd immunity, resistance to the disease among the general population to stop its spread.

[sanjuanbob]

Good news for old people...like me, need a different word than “anti body”

[fireman15]

The possibility not mentioned is that many people with similar symptoms to the Wuhan virus even in China may have had some other flu like virus.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Then again it could be just more ChiCom disinfo to try and keep our economy roiled for as long as possible.

Wouldn’t trust anything coming from them.

[gas_dr]

Exactly my thought

[Buckeye McFrog]

The source is surely under Chinese Communist Party control at this point.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_China_Morning_Post

[Republican Wildcat]

There is nothing worth believing from them whether bad news or good news.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

“The researchers excluded patients who had been admitted to intensive care units because many of them already had antibodies from donated blood plasma”

They didn’t study giving plasma for 2 years before doing it?

[chiller]

Absorbing all the science, it seems zinc is playing a larger role than initially thought...both as a treatment, and as a deterrent because of low zinc levels in some.

FWIW

[null and void]

The defining characteristic of Wuhan virus isn't anything medical nor statistical, nor any computer model.

It is the HUGE and INSTANT reaction to it being found outside the lab.

The CCP frantically tried to cover it up while imposing draconian (as only a Chinese dragon could) controls to desperately try to contain it.

The Chinese KNEW the potential of this disease, having developed it to be a weapon, and reacted accordingly to its unexpected and premature release.

Once it escaped their attempts to limit it, they did all they could to spread it far and wide to level the post pandemic playing field.

While spreading the disease that also attempted to deflect and spread the blame.

[deleted] them.

Bring Out Your Dead

Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.

The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.

The false positive rate was 100%.

At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.

*sigh* Such is life, and death...

If a quarantine saves just one child's or one old fart’s life, it's worth it.

[Mr. Rabbit]

I think by now, with well over a million cases around the world, if people were catching it twice, it would be glaringly obvious and not just a couple isolated, and frankly doubtful stories here and there. Especially stories coming out of the giant lie factory known as China.

[null and void]

The possibility not mentioned is that many people with similar symptoms to the Wuhan virus even in China may have had some other flu like virus.

In much the same way we don't mention the possibility that early on people with WuFlu slipped under the radar here as ordinary seasonal flu (called Influenza Like Illnesses, ILI, and just normal noise in the flu stats).

[Jane Long]

Once it escaped their attempts to limit it, they did all they could to spread it far and wide to level the post pandemic playing field.

==

Or...perhaps THAT part...the spreading, far and wide, WAS part of their plan, all along. Just maybe not the early escape part - in their own large manufacturing area - or, at least not to the extent.

[null and void]

It’s a virus developed for use as a weapon by the Chinese.
Is it any surprise it was defective?

[reformedliberal]

It’s a virus developed for use as a weapon by the Chinese.
Is it any surprise it was defective?

______________________________________________

Maybe they are using the same defective tests they have sold around the world.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Apparently they are having success with plasma infusions from patients who had the virus and recovered.

If this story were true that should not be happening.