worldUpdated: Jul 13, 2020 22:54 ISTThe study is the first “longitudinal” research to have monitored antibody levels in patients and hospital workers for three months after symptoms emerged.
(Reuters)Patients who recover from the novel coronavirus may have an antibody response that makes them immune to the deadly virus only for a few months, a new study in the UK has found.
A paper titled ‘Longitudinal evaluation and decline of antibody responses in SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) infection’, by King’s College London researchers, analysed the immune response of more than 90 patients and healthcare workers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, the London hospital which had treated Prime Minister Boris Johnson after he tested positive for coronavirus in March.
Research, led by Dr Katie Doores of King’s College London, found levels of antibodies that can destroy the virus peaked about three weeks after the onset of symptoms then started declining.
The immune system has multiple ways to fight the coronavirus but if antibodies are the main line of defence, the findings suggest people could become reinfected in seasonal waves just like the common cold and other kinds of flu.
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