“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."