Eris: New COVID-19 coronavirus variant detailed
It is thought more than 680 million people globally have been infected with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
While some people will be alerted to the fact they have been infected by the tell-tale symptoms, others can test positive for coronavirus without noticing so much as a sniffle.
In fact, one study, published in 2021, found that around 35 per cent of Covid patients are asymptomatic.
Previously it has not been known exactly why some people are struck down with symptoms while others are not.
But now scientists believe some asymptomatic patients could carry a gene variant, making them immune to symptoms.
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A team at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) discovered one in five asymptomatic Covid patients carried the gene variant known as HLA-B15:01.
Moreover, it was revealed that people with HLA-B15:01 who had never been infected with the virus had immune cells that reacted to Covid protein fragments.
This suggests their immunity developed after exposure to other infections.
It is hoped this could help scientists in the fight against Covid, as people continue to be affected worldwide.
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In the study, published in Nature journal, the researchers said: “Most global efforts have focused on severe illness in COVID-19.
“Examining asymptomatic infection provides a unique opportunity to consider early immunological features that promote rapid viral clearance.”
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes work to produce immune system-supporting proteins.
They pinpoint foreign invaders such as viruses, enabling our “killer” T cells to recognise and fight the infection or disease.
In Science Alert, study lead and neurologist Jill Hollenback, said: “If you have an army that’s able to recognize the enemy early, that’s a huge advantage.
“It’s like having soldiers that are prepared for battle and already know what to look for and can tell by the uniform that these are the bad guys.”
As part of the research, the team analysed genetic data collected previously from 29,947 registered bone marrow donors to track the HLA mutation.
This was cross matched against Covid data taken from a self-reporting program that these donors participated in, tracking infection, symptoms, and outcomes.
Of the participants, there were 1,428 unvaccinated donors who reported testing positive for Covid – 136 of which said they had no symptoms.
It was determined that 20 per cent of the asymptomatic donors carried at least one copy of the HLA-B*15:01 gene, compared to nine percent of infected people who developed symptoms.
Carrying just one copy of the HLA-B*15:01 variant doubled a person’s likelihood of being symptom-free when infected with COVID-19.
Someone with two copies was eight times more likely to not experience symptoms.
The HLA-B*15:01 gene variant is found in about 10 per cent of Europeans, but it may be less common in other populations, something the researchers believe should prompt larger and broader studies.
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