Study : Covid19 antibodies last for at least 9 months after infection
The antibody levels against the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 virus) remains at high levels for at least nine months, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic infections, based on the data analysed from an Italian town.
“Researchers from the University of Padua and Imperial College London tested more than 85 percent of the 3,000 residents of Vo’, Italy, in February/March 2020 for infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and tested them again in May and November 2020 for antibodies against the virus,” the Imperial College London said in its website on Monday.
Meanwhile, the antibody levels were found to have increased in some people, suggesting potential cases of re-infection by the virus and providing a boost to the immune system.
Antibody levels were tracked using three ”assays” tests that detect different types of antibodies which respond to different parts of the virus. The results showed that while all antibody types showed some decline between May and November, the rate of decay was different depending on the assay.
This finding confirms that there are large differences in the number of secondary cases generated by infected people, with the majority of infections generating no further infections and a minority of the infections generating a large number of infections.
This suggests that behavioural factors are key for epidemic control, and physical distancing, as well as limiting the number of contacts and mask-wearing, continue to be important to reduce the risk of transmitting the disease, even in highly vaccinated populations, the researchers said.
