Recent endemic coronavirus infection is associated with less-severe COVID-19
Manish Sagar, Katherine Reifler, Michael Rossi, Nancy S. Miller, Pranay Sinha, Laura F. White, Joseph P. Mizgerd
Manish Sagar, Katherine Reifler, Michael Rossi, Nancy S. Miller, Pranay Sinha, Laura F. White, Joseph P. Mizgerd
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Concise Communication

Recent endemic coronavirus infection is associated with less-severe COVID-19

Abstract

Four different endemic coronaviruses (eCoVs) are etiologic agents for the seasonal common cold, and these eCoVs share extensive sequence homology with human SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we show that individuals with, as compared with those without, a recent documented infection with eCoV were tested at greater frequency for respiratory infections but had a similar rate of SARS-CoV-2 acquisition. Importantly, the patients with a previously detected eCoV had less-severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness. Our observations suggest that preexisting immune responses against endemic human coronaviruses can mitigate disease manifestations from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Authors

Manish Sagar, Katherine Reifler, Michael Rossi, Nancy S. Miller, Pranay Sinha, Laura F. White, Joseph P. Mizgerd

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Figure 1

Testing among patients with and without a documented eCoV.

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Testing among patients with and without a documented eCoV. Days between ...
Days between the last available CRP-PCR and first SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test (A) and number of independent CRP-PCR tests from May 18, 2015, to March 11, 2020 (B) among eCoV– and eCoV+ patients. The numbers of patients (No.) contributing to the data are indicated. The black lines in the dot plots represent median and IQR. **P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001, Mann-Whitney U test.