One in four people may already be immune to coronavirus – without ever being infected, a new study has found.
Public Health England (PHE) followed nearly 2,850 key workers from the police, fire and health services to gauge levels of immunity to Covid-19.
Researchers found that by June, a quarter had high levels of T-cells which recognised the virus.
It suggested they had some level of protection against the bug, yet nearly half had never been infected.
The experts believe they may have developed a level of immunity from similar coronaviruses – like the one that causes the common cold.
They followed up with the study sample after four months and found that no-one with a high T-cell count had caught Covid.
Dr Peter Wrighton-Smith, the CEO of Oxford Immunotec, the company that developed the T-cell test for trial, said that the results show that relying on antibody testing alone to see who is immune to the virus could underestimate the number of people who have immunity.
T-cells target and destroy cells in the body that become infected by the virus.
Previous studies on immunity have centered on antibodies.
Antibodies neutralise a virus before it is able to enter the cells of the body.
Data from the study found that none of the participants with high T-cell responses became infected with the virus in the following four months.
This, the experts claim, suggests that part of the immune system can protect people from the virus.
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