A recent preprint found SARS-CoV-2 antigens in plasma up to 14 months post-COVID. Could these antigens have a causal role in Long Covid patients? Additional work will be needed to answer this fundamental question.
“Our findings provide strong evidence that SARS-CoV-2 antigens can persist beyond the period of acute illness. The observation that more than 10% of plasma samples for over a year following initial SARS-CoV-2 infection contain detectable viral antigen, which are potentially immunogenic, has significant implications given the sheer number of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 to date.”
Study led by the University of California, San Francisco.
Plasma-based antigen persistence in the post-acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection | medRxiv
