tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Nat Med
. 2020 Jun 18.
doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-0965-6. Online ahead of print.
Clinical and Immunological Assessment of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections
Quan-Xin Long[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xiao-Jun Tang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Qiu-Lin Shi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Qin Li[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Hai-Jun Deng[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jun Yuan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jie-Li Hu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wei Xu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yong Zhang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Fa-Jin Lv[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Kun Su[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Fan Zhang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jiang Gong[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Bo Wu[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Xia-Mao Liu[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Jin-Jing Li[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Jing-Fu Qiu[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Juan Chen[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Ai-Long Huang[SUP] 10 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
The clinical features and immune responses of asymptomatic individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have not been well described. We studied 37 asymptomatic individuals in the Wanzhou District who were diagnosed with RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections but without any relevant clinical symptoms in the preceding 14 d and during hospitalization. Asymptomatic individuals were admitted to the government-designated Wanzhou People's Hospital for centralized isolation in accordance with policy[SUP]1[/SUP]. The median duration of viral shedding in the asymptomatic group was 19 d (interquartile range (IQR), 15-26 d). The asymptomatic group had a significantly longer duration of viral shedding than the symptomatic group (log-rank P = 0.028). The virus-specific IgG levels in the asymptomatic group (median S/CO, 3.4; IQR, 1.6-10.7) were significantly lower (P = 0.005) relative to the symptomatic group (median S/CO, 20.5; IQR, 5.8-38.2) in the acute phase. Of asymptomatic individuals, 93.3% (28/30) and 81.1% (30/37) had reduction in IgG and neutralizing antibody levels, respectively, during the early convalescent phase, as compared to 96.8% (30/31) and 62.2% (23/37) of symptomatic patients. Forty percent of asymptomatic individuals became seronegative and 12.9% of the symptomatic group became negative for IgG in the early convalescent phase. In addition, asymptomatic individuals exhibited lower levels of 18 pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. These data suggest that asymptomatic individuals had a weaker immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The reduction in IgG and neutralizing antibody levels in the early convalescent phase might have implications for immunity strategy and serological surveys.
. 2020 Jun 18.
doi: 10.1038/s41591-020-0965-6. Online ahead of print.
Clinical and Immunological Assessment of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections
Quan-Xin Long[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Xiao-Jun Tang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Qiu-Lin Shi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Qin Li[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Hai-Jun Deng[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jun Yuan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jie-Li Hu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Wei Xu[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yong Zhang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Fa-Jin Lv[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Kun Su[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Fan Zhang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Jiang Gong[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Bo Wu[SUP] 6 [/SUP], Xia-Mao Liu[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Jin-Jing Li[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Jing-Fu Qiu[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Juan Chen[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Ai-Long Huang[SUP] 10 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32555424
- DOI: 10.1038/s41591-020-0965-6
Abstract
The clinical features and immune responses of asymptomatic individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have not been well described. We studied 37 asymptomatic individuals in the Wanzhou District who were diagnosed with RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections but without any relevant clinical symptoms in the preceding 14 d and during hospitalization. Asymptomatic individuals were admitted to the government-designated Wanzhou People's Hospital for centralized isolation in accordance with policy[SUP]1[/SUP]. The median duration of viral shedding in the asymptomatic group was 19 d (interquartile range (IQR), 15-26 d). The asymptomatic group had a significantly longer duration of viral shedding than the symptomatic group (log-rank P = 0.028). The virus-specific IgG levels in the asymptomatic group (median S/CO, 3.4; IQR, 1.6-10.7) were significantly lower (P = 0.005) relative to the symptomatic group (median S/CO, 20.5; IQR, 5.8-38.2) in the acute phase. Of asymptomatic individuals, 93.3% (28/30) and 81.1% (30/37) had reduction in IgG and neutralizing antibody levels, respectively, during the early convalescent phase, as compared to 96.8% (30/31) and 62.2% (23/37) of symptomatic patients. Forty percent of asymptomatic individuals became seronegative and 12.9% of the symptomatic group became negative for IgG in the early convalescent phase. In addition, asymptomatic individuals exhibited lower levels of 18 pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. These data suggest that asymptomatic individuals had a weaker immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The reduction in IgG and neutralizing antibody levels in the early convalescent phase might have implications for immunity strategy and serological surveys.