Asymptomatic reinfection in two healthcare workers from India with genetically distinct SARS-CoV-2
Cardiff University review immunology/immunity
First Author: Vivek Gupta
Journal: Clinical Infectious Diseases
Paper DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1451
Tags: Reinfection
Summary
This paper looks at two case studies of genetically distinct SARS-CoV-2 reinfections – the first time that reinfections are reported in asymptomatic patients – raising questions about the immunity obtained following infection. It is possible that many SARS-CoV-2 reinfections are undetected indicating a requirement for strict surveillance in healthcare systems.
Research Highlights
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Two healthcare workers who were asymptomatic were reinfected with genetically distinct SARS-CoV-2
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Both patients were reinfected within 4 months
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Seven variants each for the two patients mapped to predicted immune epitopes
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Both individuals had a higher viral load upon reinfection
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Genetic variant 22882T>G (S:N440K) was found in patient 2 reinfection - possibly confers to resistance to neutralizing antibodies
Impact for COVID-19 research:
Highlights the need for surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 reinfections, especially in the healthcare setting
Methodologies:
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Study Type: Case-study
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Key Techniques: Sequencing-ready libraries were prepared using capture-based (TWIST Biosciences) as well as amplicon-based (COVIDSeq, Illumina) approaches
Limitations:
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Only two patients were investigated