Viral kinetics of sequential SARS-CoV-2 infections

Stephen M. Kissler, James A. Hay, Joseph R. Fauver, Christina Mack, Caroline G. Tai, Deverick J. Anderson, David D. Ho, Nathan D. Grubaugh and Yonatan H. Grad ()
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Stephen M. Kissler: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
James A. Hay: University of Oxford
Joseph R. Fauver: University of Nebraska Medical Center
Christina Mack: IQVIA
Caroline G. Tai: IQVIA
Deverick J. Anderson: Duke Center for Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention
David D. Ho: Columbia University
Nathan D. Grubaugh: Yale School of Public Health
Yonatan H. Grad: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract The impact of a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on the progression of subsequent infections has been unclear. Using a convenience sample of 94,812 longitudinal RT-qPCR measurements from anterior nares and oropharyngeal swabs, we identified 71 individuals with two well-sampled SARS-CoV-2 infections between March 11th, 2020, and July 28th, 2022. We compared the SARS-CoV-2 viral kinetics of first vs. second infections in this group, adjusting for viral variant, vaccination status, and age. Relative to first infections, second infections usually featured a faster clearance time. Furthermore, a person’s relative (rank-order) viral clearance time, compared to others infected with the same variant, was roughly conserved across first and second infections, so that individuals who had a relatively fast clearance time in their first infection also tended to have a relatively fast clearance time in their second infection (Spearman correlation coefficient: 0.30, 95% credible interval (0.12, 0.46)). These findings provide evidence that, like vaccination, immunity from a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection shortens the duration of subsequent acute SARS-CoV-2 infections principally by reducing viral clearance time. Additionally, there appears to be an inherent element of the immune response, or some other host factor, that shapes a person’s relative ability to clear SARS-CoV-2 infection that persists across sequential infections.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41941-z

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