Sir,
The rapid spread of COVID19 has been attributed to its asymptomatic presentation and poor diagnosis [1, 2]. The correlation between antibody response and the severity of COVID19 has been well-established [3]. Zhou et al. have reported that low titres of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 can possibly lead to the relapse of COVID-19 [4]. Notably, the measurement of IgG alongside monitoring of the symptoms in patients with co-morbidities can potentially facilitate the assessment of the possibility of the relapse of COVID19 [4]. Recently, Marchi et al. concluded that most asymptomatic cases do not develop detectable levels of antibodies [5].
In the light of these evidences, Kiran Kumar et al. [6] results become highly relevant where they have shown the correlation of the levels of IgG antibody with cough, age and duration of the hospital stay in 210 patients. This study has the potential to reconfigure our understanding of the pathophysiology of COVID19. Though the convalescent plasma therapy is no more recommended by the ICMR and has been removed from their guidelines, the importance of assessment of antibodies in the primary subject cannot be undermined as it can enable risk management for relapse of COVID19. However, this study needs to be corroborated with a larger study. Like others, Kiran Kumar et al. [6] have also reported many COVID19 subjects without antibody immune responses and such subjects could be at a risk of relapse. Further, the assessment of different inflammatory markers and antibodies should be preferably done at distinct time points for each patient in a larger group. Usually, different patients give inflammatory responses in diverse chronological dimensions, and evaluation of markers at one-time point should not be compared. Further, the genetic basis of such diverse immunological response should be explored. They have rightly concluded that the severity of COVID19 is independent of the type of blood group; nonetheless, blood groups have been shown to influence the susceptibility to COVID19 infection [7].
Lastly, it should be considered that asymptomatic COVID19 patients with co-morbidities due to lack of antibodies could still be at a high risk of re-infection by SARS-CoV-2 and should take all precautions especially taking into account the emergence of newer genetic variants and mutants.
Acknowledgements
Authors acknowledge DBT, Government of India for Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship and research funding.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Footnotes
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