SARS CoV-2 infections in healthcare workers with a pre-existing T-cell response: a prospective cohort study.
Clin Microbiol Infect
; 27(6): 916.e1-916.e4, 2021 Jun.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1155451
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
T-cell responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are observed in unexposed individuals. We evaluated the impact of this pre-existing cellular response on incident SARS-CoV-2 infections.METHODS:
This was a follow-up study of 38 seronegative healthcare workers (HCWs) with previous evaluation of CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell responses after stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins. Infection was considered in the presence of a positive RT-PCR test and/or confirmed seroconversion.RESULTS:
Twenty of the 38 HCWs included (53%) had a previous specific CD8+ T-cell response to peptides encompassing the spike protein (S) in 13 (34%), the membrane (M) in 17 (45%), or/and the nucleocapsid (N) in three (8%). During a follow-up of 189 days (interquartile range (IQR) 172-195), 11 HCWs (29%) had an RT-PCR-positive test (n = 9) or seroconverted (n = 2). Median duration of symptoms was 2 days (IQR 0-7), and time to negative RT-PCR was 9 days (IQR 4-10). Notably, six incident infections (55%) occurred in HCWs with a pre-existing T-cell response (30% of those with a cellular response), who showed a significantly lower duration of symptoms (three were asymptomatic). Three of the six HCWs having a previous T-cell response continued to test seronegative. All the infected patients developed a robust T-cell response to different structural SARS-CoV-2 proteins, especially to protein S (91%).CONCLUSION:
A pre-existing T-cell response does not seem to reduce incident SARS-CoV-2 infections, but it may contribute to asymptomatic or mild disease, rapid viral clearance and differences in seroconversion.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
T-Lymphocytes
/
Viral Structural Proteins
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
/
Young adult
Language:
English
Journal:
Clin Microbiol Infect
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
/
Microbiology
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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