Symptomatic and Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Follow-up of Neutralizing Antibody Levels

Objective: To investigate neutralizing antibody levels in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at 6 and 10 months after disease onset.

Methods: Blood samples were collected at three different time points from 27 asymptomatic individuals and 69 symptomatic patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Virus-neutralizing antibody titers against SARS-CoV-2 in both groups were measured and statistically analyzed.

Results: The symptomatic and asymptomatic groups had higher neutralizing antibodies at 3 months and 1-2 months post polymerase chain reaction confirmation, respectively. However, neutralizing antibodies in both groups dropped significantly to lower levels at 6 months post-PCR confirmation.

Conclusion: Continued monitoring of symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals with COVID-19 is key to controlling the infection.