Researchers from Australia said they were able to map the body's immune response to infection with the coronavirus, a breakthrough in the fight against the global pandemic.
A team of scientists tested blood samples from a patient who contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized with mild symptoms.
The authors of the study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, argue that for the first time, experts have identified the body's overall immune response to a new disease.
“We saw a really strong immune response that preceded clinical recovery,” Katherine Kedzierska of the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity at the University of Melbourne told AFP.
“We noted an immune response, but the patient was still not feeling well and recovered after three days.”
Researchers are battling time to try to find a vaccine for the coronavirus, which has infected more than 180,000 people as of Tuesday 09:00 GMT.
'We have verifiable results in more patients with moderate disease. Now we can ask the question: what is different or absent in terminally ill people '?
She said the results have two practical applications.
First, it will help virologists develop a vaccine because the goal of vaccination is to mimic the body's natural immune response to viruses.
The team identified four different immune cell populations in the blood of a COVID-19 patient when recovery began.
Kedzierska said it's “very similar to what we see in patients with the flu.”
Immunity 'markers'.
The second practical application is screening, Kedzierska said.
Observations can also help health authorities make better predictions about future outbreaks and who is most at risk.
These 'markers' of the immune system can theoretically predict more accurately which patients may have mild symptoms and who are at risk of death.
Most deaths from COVID-19 occur in elderly patients or those with pre-existing medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
On the other hand, children seem to have few or no symptoms. Kedzierska said more research is needed to find out why, but the immune system naturally weakens with age.
Sharon Levin, director of the Doherty Institute and one of the world's leading experts in infectious diseases, said the study's results were promising.
“Research shows that the body produces a very powerful immune response to the virus, and this is linked to symptom relief,” she said.
“Hopefully now we can identify antibodies and create a vaccine from them.”
Sources: Agence France-Presse. Photo: Handout / National Institutes of Health / AFP / File
