from the editor
Coronavirus : The ‘ Gift ’ That Keeps on Giving ?
New research from the University of Michigan ’ s School of Public Health suggests that SARS-CoV-2 could trigger re-infections . As first author Joshua Petrie , research assistant professor in the U-M Department of Epidemiology , explains , “ There ’ s a hint that there could be SARS-COV-2 re-infections in the future , whether that ’ s because enough time is passed that your immunity has dropped off or that the virus has changed enough that it can escape your immune system . The frequency of re-infections with the different seasonal coronaviruses suggests that SARS-COV-2 is not going to completely disappear .”
Petrie and colleagues used data from the Household Influenza Vaccine Evaluation ( HIVE ) from 2010 to 2018 , which included 3,418 individuals . They identified 1,004 seasonal coronavirus infections ; of those , 30 percent were re-infections and 5 percent were co-infections with more than one type of coronavirus concurrently . Of the re-infections , 27 percent occurred within a year of the original infection .
While researchers have studied previous flu pandemics to understand and prepare for potential outbreaks , the current pandemic is the first documented to be caused by a coronavirus , confirms senior co-author Arnold Monto , professor of epidemiology at U-M ’ s School of Public Health and acting chair of the FDA ’ s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee , which oversees the approval of COVID-19 vaccines .
The researchers examined existing data for four seasonal coronaviruses that typically cause mild disease to gain insights on how the coronavirus might behave in the future . “ We can ’ t say that what is true for these coronaviruses will apply to the novel SARS- CoV-2 virus , but these infections have been in our population for years and they may give us a clue on what we can expect with COVID-19 going forward ,” says Monto .
As the paper by Petrie , et al . ( 2021 ) notes , “… duration of immunity will probably be limited by either waning immunity or viral antigenic drift , at least in some of the population , and supports careful determination of the need for booster vaccinations as time from original immunization increases . Careful monitoring of the ways in which repeated vaccination and reinfection shape the development of immunity are also warranted . This has implications for the use of immune assays as it is possible that the close relation between binding and neutralizing antibodies for SARS-CoV2 relates to the novelty of the virus . The need for periodic revaccination should not be viewed with alarm , since it has been the practiced for many years with influenza . Such booster immunizations , through updated reformulation , could also address possible antigenic changes , now becoming a major concern as novel variants continue to be identified globally .”
More than a year after the beginning of the pandemic , it ’ s tough to consider that this bug might not loosen its grip on us . It ’ s also an excellent reminder that we must never turn our backs on microorganisms , and we must never relax our vigilance about the evidence-based principles and practices of infection prevention and control that help provide leverage in the fight against pathogenic organisms . healthcarehygienemagazine
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Until next month , bust those bugs ! Kelly M . Pyrek Editor & Publisher kelly @ healthcarehygienemagazine . com
Reference : Petrie JG , et al . Coronavirus Occurrence in the HIVE Cohort of Michigan Households : Reinfection frequency and serologic responses to seasonal and SARS coronaviruses . Journal Infect Dis . March 23 , 2021 . https :// doi . org / 10.1093 / infdis / jiab161