COVID-19, brought about by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, produces very different levels of severity. It’s necessary to understand the types of immunity that this infection can engender, from asymptomatic cases to fatal infection. And how much time immunity can last, since antibody production during the initial infection generally has a determining effect on the probability of […]

A team of researchers recently tried to understand in detail the T-cell immune response to the virus. It must be remembered that the elimination of a virus by the organism requires an effective immune system response specifically directed against the viral proteins and orchestrated by the T-cells. There are 2 types of T-cells: The CD4+ […]

The American company Pfizer, in collaboration with BioNTech, has just announced the development of a vaccine that has a 90% success rate against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Although this new announcement has been received very positively for the most part, it nevertheless raises certain questions. Its effectiveness seems undeniable, but we still don’t know the length of the immunity it provides and whether it can prevent serious cases – clinical tests have been carried out only on patients with moderate symptoms for the moment. Its effect on older patients is also still to be confirmed.

The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us in many ways of the Spanish Flu outbreak that affected the whole world for more than 2 years. With more than 500 million people infected (1/3 of the world’s population at the time) and more than 100 million deaths, this epidemic killed more people between 1918 and 1920 than the combined total of military and civilians deaths during the First World War.

The symptoms of COVID-19 are as varied as they are dangerous: severe breathing difficulties, inflammation and multiple organ failure are some of those that merit particular attention. In order to better understand the illness it’s important to study the immune system and in particular the antibodies it produces. It is these antibodies, that is, the proteins produced by active B cells (called plasma cells), that recognize pathogenic agents during infection, and attempt to fight them.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the Covid-19 epidemic could have its origins in animals. In order to enter a host’s cells, the virus attaches itself to a cellular receptor called ACE2. Given the similarities between the ACE2 receptors of different species, a certain number of animals could be liable to be infected by SARS-CoV-2.

Currently, the main aim is the development of a vaccine against COVID-19. Its development is mostly based on the establishment of an immune response, that would provide long lasting and effective protection against any possible infection, by the COVID-19 virus.

COVID-19 was initially described as a simple respiratory viral infection that presented a threat of comorbidities only in elderly patients. However, COVID-19 is now recognised as a much more complex disease which can affect different organs and can evolve in quite different ways depending on the individual. For this reason, it’s important to describe and […]