PARIS, France (AFP) – People may be able to fight reinfection for at least six months after recovering from COVID-19, thanks to cells that can “remember” the virus, according to research published on Monday.
Researchers in the United States and Switzerland have studied dozens of people who recovered from COVID-19, and found that although their antibodies may fade over time, they maintain specific memory B cells.
These cells can remember the pathogen and can stimulate the immune system to regenerate the production of conflicting viruses.
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“Memory responses are responsible for protecting against reinfection and are essential for effective vaccination,” the study published in the journal Nature. ‘The observation that memory B cell responses do not decay after 6.2 months, but rather develop, is strongly indicative that individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 may experience a rapid and effective response to the virus when they exposed again. ”
The authors assessed 87 people with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis at just over one month and six months after infection.
While they found that antibody activity decreased by virus neutralization over time, the number of memory B cells remained unchanged.
Researchers said their study indicated that the memory B cell response to the coronavirus develops during the six months after infection, in the presence of viral residual proteins in the body, which enables the cells to produce stronger antibodies.
How long people can fend off the re-infection of the new coronavirus and what immune process is involved is the key to predicting the dynamics of the pandemic.
Previous research has caused concern by showing that neutralizing antibodies can decrease rapidly after infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But more recent studies have highlighted the role of other parts of the immune system in longer immunity.
One article published in the journal Science this month suggested that almost all important parts of the immune system that can learn to recognize and ward off a new pathogen can respond to the virus for at least eight months.
It included protein peak-specific memory B cells, which according to the researchers increased six months after infection in the blood.
The paper was based on blood sample analyzes of 188 COVID-19 patients.