A Seattle fishing boat experienced a coronavirus outbreak of more than 100 people — but three of the travelers may shed light on COVID-19 immunity, according to experts at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
What happened:
- A Seattle fishing boat left for a voyage in May.
- 85% of the crew tested positive for the coronavirus once they returned to port, according to the study, which has not been peer-reviewed.
- Blood samples were collected before the trip. Researchers found three of the 122 people on the ship had tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, which suggests they had the novel coronavirus and recovered.
- 104 of the 120 crew members tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of the voyage. The three who had the antibodies did not.
What it means:
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The report said: “This difference is statistically significant, indicating that preexisting neutralizing antibodies are significantly associated with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.”
- “It’s a strong indication that the presence of neutralizing antibodies is associated with protection from the virus. It’s hopeful news.” said Dr. Alex Greninger, co-author of the report posted on MedRxiv, according to the Seattle Times.
- “While this is a small study, it offers a remarkable, real-life, human experiment. Who knew immunology research on fishing boats could be so informative?” said Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, wrote in a commentary.