Scientists in Barcelona, Spain, warn people who have suffered mild Covid-19 symptoms are still at risk of contracting the virus again

The first findings of a study by researchers in Barcelona, Spain, has found that almost half of those mildly infected with coronavirus do not build up an immunity and are at risk of being affected a second time.

FORTY-FOUR per cent of people tested who suffered a mild or asymptomatic Covid-19 infection were found to have a “very low level of antibodies with little neutralising capacity,” and are therefore not immunised against the coronavirus, claim scientists at IrsiCaixa and IRTA-CReSA.

The study, carried out by the IrsiCaixa institute, the Animal Health Research Centre (CReSA) at the Institute for Research and Technology in Food and Agriculture (IRTA) and the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC), with the support of Grifols, analysed 111 plasma samples from people who have generated antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and who experienced different levels of severity of the disease.

The findings suggest patients who are hospitalised, on the other hand, produced around 10 times more antibodies than those with mild symptoms.

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Tara Rippin

Tara Rippin is a reporter for Spain’s largest English-speaking newspaper, Euro Weekly News, and is responsible for the Costa Blanca region.
She has been in journalism for more than 20 years, having worked for local newspapers in the Midlands, UK, before relocating to Spain in 1990.
Since arriving, the mother-of-one has made her home on the Costa Blanca, while spending 18 months at the EWN head office in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.
She loves being part of a community that has a wonderful expat and Spanish mix, and strives to bring the latest and most relevant news to EWN’s loyal and valued readers.

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