Study finds COVID antibodies in 22% of Houstonians

“If you want to start measuring the frequency of COVID-19 in our population, testing for antibodies is one of the best ways to do it,” said Eric Boerwinkle, dean of the UTHealth School of Public Health.

The presence of antibodies – proteins in a patient’s immune system that fight infection – tells researchers that these people have contracted the virus in recent months. El Paso led the major cities with 29% of residents surveyed testing positive for COVID-19 antibodies, followed by Dallas with 27%, San Antonio with 26%, Houston with 22%, Brownsville with 20% and Austin with 15%.

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The researchers gave nearly 7,000 participants a questionnaire about their health and several blood tests to assess their immune systems, and also evaluated more than 78,000 unidentified blood samples from clinics across the state. The survey assesses the duration of immunity and antibody responses of asymptomatic individuals.

Preliminary data indicates that 27% of the Hispanic population in Texas and 29% of Texans 19 and under have COVID-19 antibodies.

The frequency of antibodies in young people is alarming, said Boerwinkle. Many children never know they are carriers of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID.

“We are very lucky that young people don’t get sick so often when exposed to the virus,” he said. “Right now we don’t have an approved vaccine for children. We need to be careful though, as we don’t understand why some children have severe effects from COVID. “

The first reports show COVID-19 antibodies living in the body for up to eight months after infection, according to Science, a peer-reviewed medical journal. Protein is essential for understanding infection rates and risk factors for the virus.

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Texas researchers said it was too early to determine antibody lifespan from the statewide study, but said it has so far been rare to find patients tested positive for proteins that were negative on a second blood sample.

“The Texas CARES study is cutting-edge science that will provide valuable information to enable Texas to formulate public health strategies that will ultimately defeat the pandemic,” said Dr. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of health services for the Department of Health. State of Texas, in a statement. .

Infusions of antibodies from people who have recovered from COVID-19 are part of the treatment strategies of some medical providers. Several monoclonal antibody drugs are already available under emergency use authorization for use in patients at risk of serious complications.

The study, which began in October, aims to recruit 75,000 people. People are eligible to participate in the study, regardless of whether they have been tested for COVID-19, but people with active infections must wait until they have recovered to enter.