New scientific knowledge: What is the secret of people who never get infected with covid? Are they immune?

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More than three years have passed since the first known covid-19 infection. Since then, we have seen hundreds of millions of cases worldwide.

You've probably had it – at least once, if not more than once – and so has almost everyone you know. As continuous waves of infections arrive, there are fewer and fewer people who have never contracted Covid-19. But even taking into account those who had it and didn't know it, there are probably still some people who have managed to avoid the virus entirely (so far). "Science alert" (Science alert).

Were they somehow immune? Did they possess a favorable genetic mutation? Did they simply avoid people and continue to take precautions? Or were they just lucky, and their time will inevitably come?

Unfortunately, we still don't know why some people have been able to avoid covid-19 for so long. Science takes time.

We've seen research happen at an unprecedented rate in 2020 to understand SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes covid-19) and develop treatments and vaccines. But that level of funding and collaboration is difficult to sustain in a world with so many valuable areas of research.

However, some research is specifically concerned with whether a genetic element helps explain why certain people have never contracted Covid-19. But while this research is important, we should not lose focus on those who suffer from the disease and its long-term effects.

Is immunity in the genes?

The COVID Human Genetic Effort, led by researchers in the US, is recruiting people with known exposure to the virus but who have not had it themselves. This includes, for example, healthcare workers or people who have lived in a household with a confirmed case of covid-19.

Scientists will examine their DNA and look for unusual mutations that might explain their apparent resistance to SARS-CoV-2 infection. This could be a mutation in cell receptors or enzymes needed for the virus to enter our cells, or perhaps a mutation in a gene involved in the immune response to infection.

Studies that look for abnormalities in our DNA, called genome-wide association studies, have already identified genetic mutations that make some people resistant to other infections like HIV and norovirus. If we can identify the reasons why people may be immune to a particular virus, then, in theory, that knowledge could be used to prevent infection.

But is it really that simple? Despite our understanding of the genetic mutations that protect a lucky minority of people from norovirus, there is no vaccine or treatment for this virus. And the unfortunate "CRISPR babies" (several children born in 2018 whose genomes were altered in an attempt to make them immune to HIV) have been criticized for being ethically questionable, not to mention illegal.

It is possible that it is not a single gene mutation, but a combination of mutations in several genes, which makes a small number of people immune to covid-19. Targeting multiple genes without causing any side effects can be tricky and would make it difficult to exploit this knowledge for Covid-19 drugs.

But understanding the genetic mutations that make someone resistant to Covid-19 could provide valuable insight into how SARS-CoV-2 infects people and causes disease. In other words, it might be interesting scientifically, but maybe not clinically.

Although it will be some time before we get the answers from these studies, scientists believe that there is a small group of people who are naturally immune to SARS-CoV-2 because of their genes.

Time to change focus?

As scientists, we can become fixated on certain details of our research. It's always important to remember that there are people on the other end of these infectious diseases, says Lindsay Broadbent, lecturer in virology at the University of Surrey.

Although SARS-CoV-2 continues to infect people around the world and is constantly mutating and evolving into new variants, its severity has generally been greatly reduced thanks to effective vaccines.

At the same time, around two million people in the UK report long-term covid, almost a fifth of whom have symptoms so severe that the condition significantly limits their daily activities.

While there are several theories about what contributes to prolonged covid, including microclotting in the blood and chronic inflammation, we don't really know why some people are affected and others are not. So perhaps our focus should shift from the genetic determinants of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 to investigating whether some people may have a genetic predisposition to a potentially life-altering chronic disease.

Although it will be some time before we get the answers from these studies, scientists believe there is a small group of people who are naturally immune to SARS-CoV-2 because of their genes, says Lindsay Broadbent, a lecturer in virology at the University of Surrey.

This article has been republished by The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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