Villagers in Italy who were the initial focus of the pandemic are now “super immune” to COVID-19: the theory of the experts

Scientists investigate the presence of people “superimmune” to covid-19 in the small town north of Italy where the first death from the coronavirus occurred in Europe.

Vo ‘Euganeo, a small rural town of 3,275 inhabitants near Padua in the Veneto region, became a large-scale laboratory when it became the first pandemic epidemic in Italy in February 2020.

Covid-19 was starting to spread across the country and, as the world watched, Vo ‘was the first city to be strictly quarantined, guarded by the army. Too, it was the only one where doctors could test the 2,812 inhabitants.

The soldiers left a long time ago but the doctors stayed and continued the tests.

Now scientists have discovered that antibodies produced by residents after catching COVID-19 they were still very strong nine months later, more than some experts predicted.

“We also found that in some cases their antibody levels increased, rather than disappeared, during this time.”, he explained to the British newspaper Time Enrico Lavezzo, a microbiologist from the University of Padua, who performs the tests.

Lavezzo and his colleagues concluded during the analysis of 2602 inhabitants for antibodies in May and they established that 162 were immune after being infected in February or early March.

Of these 162 residents, 156 were tested again nine months later, in November. From this, 129 of them still had antibodies.

According to the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Padua in collaboration with Imperial College London, on the 129 people who still had antibodies nine months after the initial outbreak, 16 showed more than double the levels they had in May. Possible causes for the increase in antibodies include re-exposure to the virus. The study is currently under peer review.

“More than half of the 129 showed a decrease in antibodies nine months later, but they were still sufficient to protect themselves from the virus,” Lavezzo said.

The team found that former patients who exhibited symptoms during their battle with covid they maintained their antibody level better over time if they had a higher body mass index. In some tests, the older the subjects, the longer their antibodies remained.

However, the most important result was the 16 subjects whose antibodies in November were more than double the level they had in May.

“We think it’s because they had contact with someone who tested positive after May”Said Lavezzo. “The virus entered their body, infected certain cells, but was quickly eliminated by the antibodies they already had. But something else happened: the virus spurred the production of even more antibodies. None had symptoms ”.

Nine of those sixteen confirmed they had possible contact with a positive between May and November.

“A colleague in the office got it in October and it ended up in the hospital,” he said. “I knew I already had antibodies thanks to Covid in February, so it’s possible I was reckless with that,” he said. Raffaela Frasson, 53 years old and one of the superimmune cases.

“Many viruses stimulate the production of additional antibodies on contact,” Lavezzo explained. “What we’ve seen here with Covid is that contact can more than double the number of antibodies you already have and that really extends the length of your protection. “

“What we don’t know is if during this brief and minor contagion you become contagious”, said the researcher.

But there is more. Lavezzo believes that the increase in antibodies caused by a new contact works not only for people who have had COVID-19, but also for those who have been vaccinated, which means that the protection offered by a vaccine may be enhanced if the recipient comes into contact with a positive case.

“A vaccine is artificial exposure to a pathogen”, said Lavezzo to NBC News. “It’s like promoting the immune memory of those who are vaccinated, so the next time they come in contact with the virus their response may be faster and stronger.”

While so-called superimmunity have been found in other parts of the world, Rarely do human antibodies increase rather than dissipate.

Understanding how to trigger such a response could be key to defeating COVID-19.

The superimmune discovery isn’t the first Vo ‘study to provide insight into the coronavirus.

In March 2020, when most of the world still considered Covid-19 to be a disease affecting remote populations, Lavezzo and other researchers found that 42.5% of people infected with Vo ‘were asymptomatic.. The discovery influenced the decision of the Veneto region, where Vo ‘is located, to step up efforts to test, track and isolate the virus. Vo ‘Euganeo’s approach was a case of international praise.

Among the data that Lavezzo’s team collects is also the genetic map of the population to see if anything in their DNA has helped them defend themselves against the virus.

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