The SARS-CoV-2 virus persists inside the human body long after the acute phase of the infection, two new studies have found.
The studies, conducted by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), showed that COVID antigens lingered in the blood up to 14 months after infection and more than two years in tissue samples of people who had the infection. The results were presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) conducted in Denver, Colorado.
“These two studies provide some of the strongest evidence so far that COVID antigens can persist in some people, even though we think they have normal immune responses,” said Dr. Michael Peluso, who led both studies.
Earlier studies have indicated that even though viruses like SARS-CoV-2 are typically seen as temporary, some viral parts can remain in the body after the initial illness. This can be due to factors related to the virus and the immune system. Although these studies showed that components of SARS-CoV-2 might remain in the body even after recovery, the knowledge was limited due to the lack of comparison against proper negative control samples.
“Our findings provide strong evidence that SARS-CoV-2 antigens can persist beyond the period of acute illness. The observation that 7-13% of plasma samples for over a year following initial SARS-CoV-2 infection contain detectable viral antigens, which are potentially immunogenic, has significant implications given the sheer number of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 to date. Work to determine if persistent antigen contributes to post-acute sequelae such as Long COVID is needed,” the researchers wrote in the study abstract.
The researchers examined blood samples from 171 participants who had a COVID-19 infection. By using an ultra-sensitive test that detects the COVID “spike” protein crucial for the virus to enter human cells, they found that the virus persisted in some people for up to 14 months.
For individuals hospitalized with COVID-19,…
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