“Abstract: We investigated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)–specific antibodies and T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2…
Discussion: In this study, we demonstrate that intrafamilial contacts can display a SARS-CoV-2–specific T-cell response in the absence of seroconversion, especially when they have been symptomatic. This T-cell response provides evidence that transient or anatomically contained SARS-CoV-2 infection, or both, may have occurred and that T-cell responses would be more sensitive indicators of SARS-Co-V-2 exposure than antibodies…
Overall, our results indicate that persons exposed to SARS-CoV-2 may develop virus-specific T-cell responses without detectable circulating antibodies. This aspect of the immune response against SARS-CoV-2 contributes substantially to the understanding of the natural history of COVID-19. Furthermore, our data indicate that epidemiologic data relying solely on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies may lead to a substantial underestimation of prior exposure to the virus."
Works of the United States government are not entitled to domestic copyright protection under U.S. law and are therefore in the public domain.