The courses of Covid-19 diseases differ greatly.
A past infection with the common cold coronavirus OC43 is said to have a mitigating effect.
Münster - Which factors actually have an influence on how severe an infection with Covid-19 is?
A research team from the University of Münster has now dealt with this question, focusing on past illnesses.
Even before the pandemic, more harmless coronaviruses appeared seasonally around the world, causing slight infections of the upper respiratory tract.
Corona: Antibodies against virus variants also help with Covid 19 infection
The consideration of the team from Münster: People whose bodies have already fought a corona cold virus could now possibly be better protected from a Covid-19 infection. The researchers focused on a total of four rather harmless and long-spread coronaviruses: inside, more precisely. In a first study, the blood of 60 people with Covid-19 infection was examined as soon as possible after the first symptoms appeared, and the course of the disease was then documented. With a further survey of almost 300 patients, the results of the scientists could then be confirmed again: Anyone who has already suffered from the coronavirus type OC43 and was able to form antibodies against it, showed a rather mild course of the disease with Covid 19th
Infection with Covid-19 cannot prevent the previous OC-34 infection, but the antibodies that the body has already formed against a certain protein make a serious course of the disease less likely.
The researchers suspect a so-called cross-immunity behind this phenomenon: Antibodies of the harmless virus variant also protect the body to a certain extent against the version, which is partly similar but clearly more aggressive.
Coronavirus - Researchers recommend blood test for risk assessment at clinics
A lack of antibodies, on the other hand, is a risk factor that must be taken into account in addition to aspects such as age, weight or gender. "Our recommendation derived from this is that OC43 antibodies should be measured in inpatients admitted to COVID-19 and viewed as part of the risk assessment," said Prof. Hartmut Schmidt from the University Hospital Münster in a press release on the research result. In total, about 20 percent of the patients examined had no developed OC43 antibodies, in people over 40 and especially in men in the second half of life without OC43 antibodies, the risk of a severe course of Covid-19 was increased.
According to the researchers, testing for antibodies does not require a great deal of extra effort: a blood sample taken from the patient when they are admitted to the hospital can "provide a result within a short period of time". This measure has been carried out at Münster University Hospital since March. "With the testing, we have a screening option for the first time, from which we can derive a prognosis for the course of the disease and use new therapy options for those patients who need them most in the case of COVID-19," explains Prof. Hartmut Schmidt. "We should take advantage of this opportunity."
(Eu)