tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Virol Sin
. 2020 Dec 22.
doi: 10.1007/s12250-020-00329-9. Online ahead of print.
Viral and Antibody Kinetics of COVID-19 Patients with Different Disease Severities in Acute and Convalescent Phases: A 6-Month Follow-Up Study
Xiaoyong Zhang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Suwen Lu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hui Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yi Wang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zhen Lu[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zhihong Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Qingtao Lai[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yali Ji[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xuan Huang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yongyin Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jian Sun[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yingsong Wu[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Xiaoning Xu[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jinlin Hou[SUP] 6 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread rapidly around the world, posing a major threat to human health and the economy. Currently, long-term data on viral shedding and the serum antibody responses in COVID-19 patients are still limited. Herein, we report the clinical features, viral RNA loads, and serum antibody levels in a cohort of 112 COVID-19 patients admitted to the Honghu People's Hospital, Hubei Province, China. Overall, 5.36% (6/112) of patients showed persistent viral RNA shedding (> 45 days). The peak viral load was higher in the severe disease group than in the mild group (median cycle threshold value, 36.4 versus 31.5; P = 0.002). For most patients the disappearance of IgM antibodies occurred approximately 4-6 weeks after symptoms onset, while IgG persisted for over 194 days after the onset of symptoms, although patients showed a 46% reduction in antibodies titres against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein compared with the acute phase. We also studied 18 asymptomatic individuals with RT-qPCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection together with 17 symptomatic patients, and the asymptomatic individuals were the close contacts of these symptomatic cases. Delayed IgG seroconversion and lower IgM seropositive rates were observed in asymptomatic individuals. These data indicate that higher viral loads and stronger antibody responses are related to more severe disease status in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the antibodies persisted in the recovered patient for more than 6 months so that the vaccine may provide protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Keywords: Antibody response; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Disease severity; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); Viral shedding.
. 2020 Dec 22.
doi: 10.1007/s12250-020-00329-9. Online ahead of print.
Viral and Antibody Kinetics of COVID-19 Patients with Different Disease Severities in Acute and Convalescent Phases: A 6-Month Follow-Up Study
Xiaoyong Zhang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Suwen Lu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Hui Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yi Wang[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zhen Lu[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zhihong Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Qingtao Lai[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yali Ji[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xuan Huang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yongyin Li[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jian Sun[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yingsong Wu[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Xiaoning Xu[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jinlin Hou[SUP] 6 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33351168
- DOI: 10.1007/s12250-020-00329-9
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread rapidly around the world, posing a major threat to human health and the economy. Currently, long-term data on viral shedding and the serum antibody responses in COVID-19 patients are still limited. Herein, we report the clinical features, viral RNA loads, and serum antibody levels in a cohort of 112 COVID-19 patients admitted to the Honghu People's Hospital, Hubei Province, China. Overall, 5.36% (6/112) of patients showed persistent viral RNA shedding (> 45 days). The peak viral load was higher in the severe disease group than in the mild group (median cycle threshold value, 36.4 versus 31.5; P = 0.002). For most patients the disappearance of IgM antibodies occurred approximately 4-6 weeks after symptoms onset, while IgG persisted for over 194 days after the onset of symptoms, although patients showed a 46% reduction in antibodies titres against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein compared with the acute phase. We also studied 18 asymptomatic individuals with RT-qPCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection together with 17 symptomatic patients, and the asymptomatic individuals were the close contacts of these symptomatic cases. Delayed IgG seroconversion and lower IgM seropositive rates were observed in asymptomatic individuals. These data indicate that higher viral loads and stronger antibody responses are related to more severe disease status in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the antibodies persisted in the recovered patient for more than 6 months so that the vaccine may provide protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Keywords: Antibody response; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Disease severity; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); Viral shedding.