Infection with SARS-CoV-2 offers defence against dengue
by
ANNU
Serum from SARS-CoV-2-infected patients can neutralise dengue virus antigen and provide protection against dengue, according to a study1. In dengue-endemic areas of India and elsewhere, exposure to SARS-CoV-2 between 2019 and 2021 has been found to result in less severe dengue symptoms but no deaths.
According to a group from the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in Kolkata, these discoveries would aid in the precise identification and appropriate therapy of both individual instances of these two viral illnesses as well as co-infection cases.
Highly endemic dengue localities were substantially less affected by the intensity and mortality of COVID-19 several months into the epidemic. Scientists were fascinated by this phenomenon and performed blood tests to look for any interactions between pre-pandemic dengue virus serum samples and SARS-CoV-2 antigen.
The researchers next examined 52 COVID-19 patients' serum samples under the direction of virologist Subhajit Biswas. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were present in measurable amounts in almost 90% of the samples. In strip testing, they discovered that roughly 89% of COVID-19 seropositive cases—including many with no prior history of exposure to dengue—reacted with dengue viral antigen.
The scientists discovered that serum from COVID-19 patients greatly reduced the entry of dengue virus serotype 1 into host cells.
Dengue virus antibodies bind to a few key amino acids in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in molecular docking studies, preventing the protein from interacting to a receptor on host cells. In strip testing, these antibodies also interacted with the spike protein.
The researchers highlight that this suggests that a limited immunity to COVID-19 may be present in dengue-endemic areas.