Catching a so-called seasonal coronavirus such as a cold or bronchitis from early childhood would not protect either Covid-19 or serious forms linked to Kawasaki disease.
"Infection with seasonal coronaviruses does not offer significant protection against infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and other associated diseases such as Kawasaki-like syndrome," notes Marc Eloit, head of the laboratory. discovery of pathogens at the Institut Pasteur in a press release.
A study, coordinated by Necker Hospital (AP-HP, Paris) and the Institut Pasteur and posted on the pre-publication site Medrxiv, confirms the high frequency and high rate of antibodies against seasonal coronaviruses in the general population, which does not prevent infections by these viruses each winter.
Doubts about the possibility of collective immunity
"If the Covid-19 virus behaves like seasonal coronaviruses, this observation questions the ability of the population to reach a level of immunity sufficient to prevent the regular recurrence of the disease" deduces the researcher, co-author of the 'study.
Antibodies against the four seasonal coronaviruses (NL63, HKU1, 229E, OC43) were found in 67-100% of children depending on the virus. The level of these antibodies was comparable between children with a positive serology test for SARS-CoV-2 and those who were HIV negative, whether they were patients with Kawasaki-like syndrome or those who had does not or only slightly symptomatic form of Covid-19, the study shows.
Antibodies neutralizing the SARS-CoV-2 virus were present in 56% of positive children, with a relative frequency increasing with time (up to 100% at the end of the study, 2 months from the peak of the epidemic). More than half (69.4%) of these children had never had symptoms suggestive of infection.
A hope born several months ago
The question of the possible cross immunity conferred by the four seasonal coronaviruses vis-à-vis Covid-19, was recently asked after the detection of antibodies and immune cells recognizing the new coronavirus in people before the epidemic phase.
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VIDEO. Kawasaki and Covid-19 syndrome: "High fever and digestive problems in the foreground"
Children make mildly symptomatic forms of Covid-19 that often go unnoticed. Severe injuries related to Kawasaki disease are very rare. The Ped-Covid study took place from March 1 to June 1 in seven hospitals in Paris and the immediate area, with 775 children (0 to 18 years old), 36 of whom had an inflammatory syndrome linked to Covid-19 and related to Kawasaki disease.
