Recent endemic coronavirus infection is associated with less-severe COVID-19
Manish Sagar, … , Laura F. White, Joseph P. Mizgerd
Manish Sagar, … , Laura F. White, Joseph P. Mizgerd
Published September 30, 2020
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2021;131(1):e143380. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI143380.
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Concise Communication COVID-19

Recent endemic coronavirus infection is associated with less-severe COVID-19

Abstract

Four different endemic coronaviruses (eCoVs) are etiologic agents for the seasonal common cold, and these eCoVs share extensive sequence homology with human SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we show that individuals with, as compared with those without, a recent documented infection with eCoV were tested at greater frequency for respiratory infections but had a similar rate of SARS-CoV-2 acquisition. Importantly, the patients with a previously detected eCoV had less-severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness. Our observations suggest that preexisting immune responses against endemic human coronaviruses can mitigate disease manifestations from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Authors

Manish Sagar, Katherine Reifler, Michael Rossi, Nancy S. Miller, Pranay Sinha, Laura F. White, Joseph P. Mizgerd

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Figure 2

Mortality among patients with and without a documented eCoV.

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Mortality among patients with and without a documented eCoV. Unadjusted ...
Unadjusted Kaplan-Meier survival curve for eCoV– and eCoV+ SARS-CoV-2–infected hospitalized patients. The y axis shows the probability of survival, and the x axis shows days after first SARS-CoV-2–positive RT-PCR result. The tick marks denote right censoring after July 14, 2020. The number of patients at risk at different time points is shown. Unadjusted (0.3, 95% CI 0.1–0.7) and adjusted (0.3, 95% CI 0.0–2.0) survival HRs were calculated using the log rank test and Cox’s proportional hazard model, respectively.