Corona Virus and its immune protein

Corona Virus and its immune protein

Corona Crisis

Shortly, I came to know that some local organizations have taken steps to test for corona antibodies in several cities and states. It is really pretty good news and promising too. As soon as any good initiative is started in our country, many arguments and bad arguments come to the fore in its opposition and there are people who come forward to destroy the initiative.  In this case too it was no exception. Before discussing all those arguments or misconceptions, let us first know what an antibody test is. As soon as any disease occurs in our body, the body's natural immunity goes down to fight that disease and as a result a protein substance is created inside our body for the purpose of protecting the body from that particular disease. Each disease produces a different type of disease resistant protein or immune protein, such as measles, which does not have the same protein as the Corona disease. These two are completely different type of protein substances. This protein substance is called the ‘antibody’ to that particular disease. These antibodies usually remain in our body as a protective shield against that particular disease for a long time even after the disease gets better and try to protect us. As a result, if the disease wants to attack our body again for the second time, it is resisted and goes back.

Antibody tests can tell if the disease has ever occurred in our body before. Suppose a blood test showed that my body contained a specific protein for Corona Virus disease, meaning that I did not know at any time that the disease had taken root in my body and that I had recovered normally. In this case, the antibodies to the corona disease that have formed in my body will prevent me from getting this disease for the second time by the body's own rules. One thing to keep in mind here is that antibody tests do not tell you if you are currently infected with corona, only the presence of certain proteins in your body that are resistant to corona can tell if you have ever had the disease unknowingly and as a result of that whether appropriate immunity has been created inside your body or not. The most reliable test to check for Corona disease is RTPCR (Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction). Basically, depending on this test, our central or state government is declaring corona positive or negative. In addition to this test, there are several other tests, such as the TrueNat test and the Antigen test. These tests also tell if a person is currently infected with corona, but the only antibody test can tell if a person has ever had corona before. So what happens when antibodies are tested?

It turns out that many people with corona disease either have no illness at all or even if it is, it is so low that the person has no worries about it, so he did not pay attention to such illness at all. These patients are the cause of our greatest concern now; they are called ‘Asymptomatic patients’. The Indian Council of Medical Research recently conducted a large-scale study on antibodies in Delhi. The study found that about 20 percent of the people in that state have been infected with corona disease at some point. Such a larger survey is called a ‘Serosurvey’. In other words, based on the data from this survey, it can be said that about two million people in that state have been infected with corona disease so far. But according to government data, only one lakh and thirty thousand people in that state are positive. Then why there is such a huge difference? Because according to government estimates, those who have had corona have tested positive after feeling sick, those who have come in contact with them have had corona tests for the same reason, and positive patients have been found there. But those who did not get sick at all have wandered around in the divine society and some of them have become better than themselves, meaning those who have become better have those antibodies made in their bodies. It goes without saying that they are not likely to be infected with corona for the second time as a rule. So what is understood is that, in a large population of people who have never had direct contact with a patient or who have not become seriously ill, to know the exact number of how many of them have contracted corona disease, how many have recovered, and how many have developed antibodies to prevent corona disease, it is important to do an antibody test to find out. But is there any other reason to test these antibodies in such a large population on such a large scale without this survey? Let's talk a little bit about them.

Antibody tests can identify people who have never had a chance to get a corona test but who have had Corona disease and have also recovered. But what is the benefit of identifying them? The benefit is to know how many people have these antibodies in their body and these people will also be relieved and stop spending their days in panic knowing that they are less likely to get                a second corona disease because their body now has enough energy to fight Corona disease. There are. Many of them may even volunteer to help patients. At present, most of the people, whether they are from the neighborhood or close relatives, are not coming out to help the patients due to the terrible Corona panic, which is a very unfortunate aspect for the society. Another benefit of such a large-scale antibody test is that it is possible to find out which neighborhoods or areas have Corona germs, so it will be easier for the administration to immediately locate patients in those areas through RTPCR tests and arrange their treatment.

Here is a discussion of the pros and cons of the antibody test, now let's discuss the arguments against it.

The First Argument

Many, citing WHO’s guidelines, say there is no evidence that Corona disease will not recur. 

That's true. However, there is no evidence that a person has been infected with corona for the second time. After reading this, many will be shocked and they make them appear with so many newspaper clippings and other information to argue in this regard, but it is important to understand that some such examples may have come, but none have been proven to be a second infection. 

This matter needs to be understood a little better. How do you know if someone is positive?

Of course through the RTPCR test. A very good quality RTPCR test has shown that 4 out of every 100 people are getting positive results which are not actually positive. This is called a false positive case. RTPCR kit is not something of high quality in our country. So it is natural that the number of false positive cases in our country is much higher than other countries. Statistics show that out of fifteen lakh positive cases in the country, about sixty to seventy thousand are appearing as false positives. Initially, the confirmatory test was done to confirm that. It means that once the test was positive, the second test was done to see if it was correct, but now, in accordance with the guidelines of ICMR, the second test is not being tested once in a positive report in many a places.  

So the first positive report that is being received by some people may be the case of those false positives. 

Again in some cases it is seen that the corona disease has been prolonging up to a month even. In that case, if the patient is discharged after 14 days without waiting for the RTPCR test to be negative, there is a possibility of infection. In this case, if the corona of any of these patients is detected further, it is not a re-infection; it is the cause of the previous infection. 

I Want to mention one more thing in this context, that is, in the RTPCR test, some substances in the body of the corona virus are found in the human saliva, and only when it is found in patient’s saliva, the patient is declared as Corona positive. It is seen that even after the cure of corona disease, dead cells of those substances of corona virus are found in the saliva of some people. If all these well-being patients are re-tested for RTPCR under any suspicion, their corona will be positive. But this is not a case of re-infection, only since those dead cells are being found, the report is coming positive. Scientists at the Korean Center for Disease Control have studied the recurrence of the virus and found that all of the cases were positive for salivary gland corona virus cells.  

Also, if the corona test is done in TrueNat method and not in RTPCR method, many times false positive can come. The TrueNat test is done in two parts, in many places the test was declared positive by testing only in one part, so ICMR has now discontinued the test in many parts of the country. There has been and continues to be a lot of research on this re-infection in different countries of the world. For example, many scientists in China, Italy, the United States, Korea and the UK have done a lot of research on this, but so far scientists have not been able to show any evidence in favor of re-infection. A study by a Chinese medical college found that the monkeys, who has been re-infected with the viruses second time, has not caught with the infection in their lungs and other important organs of their body except the inertial part of their nose.  So far there is at least no evidence in favor of any risk of re-infection. 

Does this mean that no one will ever be re-infected and will that never be terrible?  No, not at all!  

Many people have had smallpox more than once. Although their number is very low, but it has been! According to a study published in the Nature journal, 2 to 6 percent of people with coronary heart disease do not produce any antibodies. In their case, there is a possibility of re-infection. However, those who do not produce antibodies in their body and antibody test will also not detect any infection, so there can be no reason for them to be careless.

Corona Crisis

The Second Argument

Some are making another argument against antibody testing. They say that antibodies to the corona virus do not last in the human body for more than two to three months, and since then their immune system gradually weakens, so the person may become infected again after a short time.  

This argument is quite good. This information is also known in many research journals. This is confirmed in a study by the Imperial College of London and a Chinese study published in the Nature journal. This news has spread widely in our media. But, what the media has not reported is the news of some more research and its results. 

Over the last few months, from May to July, there has been a number of startling research reports that are very promising. Such as a study published in the journal Cell last May, a study from the Karlinska Institute in Sweden and a study published in the journal Nature in July. 

What do we know from these? 

One more thing to know before saying that. The immune system of the human body is a little different, quite complex. The immune system of antibodies is one of a kind and the body has its own mechanism to prevent the disease.

One of them is T-cell. The function of T-cells is to kill the infected cells without killing the cause of the disease as soon as a disease settles in the body, meaning that the virus can no longer spread rapidly through the body. But this T-cell cannot be found in antibody test. Our above mentioned studies show that once the human body is infected with the corona virus, these T-cells remember the corona virus, which is called ‘T-cell memory’. This means that if the corona virus enters the body again, no matter how little the antibody resists, the T-cells begin to kill the infected cells as soon as the disease begins, so that the disease can no longer grow. This T-cell is probably the reason why the disease does not spread to the lungs or any other important part except in the nose of the monkeys as mentioned earlier.  

In addition, research has shown that this T-cell mechanism works in 100% of covid patients, in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.

The Third Argument

Another contradictory argument is that the virus always changes its character, i.e. virus mutates themselves. Suppose the body develops immunity against the virus and within a short time the virus completely changes its character, leaving no previous immunity. 

If that happens then it is really difficult. This is one of the main reasons why we get the flu every few years after, mainly because of mutations in the virus. However, a study published in the journal ‘RNA Biology’ in 2013 found that the rate of mutations in the corona virus was much lower than in the flu virus. Also, research on T cells that I mentioned earlier suggests that these T cells do not recognize the corona virus with just one or two features. These T cells memorize the news of about thirty different features of the virus. So in one or two mutations the virus will not become unrecognizable, it requires many mutations which is not very easy.

Corona Crisis

The Fourth Argument

Some argue against the antibody test, saying that only 30-40% of patients develop antibodies within the first ten days of infection, in which case they are less likely to test positive in the early stages of infection and will infect others at the camp. Instead, they will go around and spread the disease. 

This is a strangely ridiculous argument. First of all, it is important to understand that the antibody test is not a corona test. This is a test to see if there are antibodies in the body to prevent corona virus disease. Those who will organize the camp, hopefully they are not making such a ridiculous claim. If the antibody is not in the body, in the future the person may be infected with the corona virus, so he will come to the camp knowing that. Also, if I assume that an asymptomatic patient came to the camp and wandered around without understanding the test results and spread the infection, then what would have happened if this antibody test had not been done? This person would never have an RTPCR test of his own free will, because he has no symptoms. Even then, this person would wander around and spread the disease. So tell me what is the damage for this camp separately?

The Fifth Argument

The fifth or last contradictory argument is that some say why antigen tests are not being done instead of antibody tests. They say the antigen test will do more to prevent the community infection because it detects the one who is directly infected. 

Here again there are two arguments in this regard.

The first is that the antigen test is a corona detection test; it cannot be done without the permission of the government.

The second is that corona is often not detected in antigen tests, which makes the risk of being infected with corona disease worse, as there may be a chance to declare a Corona infected patient as a Corona negative one.

Again, the purpose of the antibody test is not to detect corona disease in the present, but to identify those who have recovered from the infection. 

Remember that antibodies are being tested at a massive rate all over the world.

In cities like London or New York, where the number of infections is much higher, antibody tests are also widely available. At least if a person knows that antibodies are working in his body, then people who are free from panic and worry will not turn away when they see another patient.

Hopefully we will soon get back to humanity; hopefully we will become human again!

Thank you all for reading. Be safe and secure always. Let's fight Corona together.

Corona Crisis