Two-Year Prospective Study of the Humoral Immune Response of Patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Abstract In a cohort study of 56 convalescent patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), titers of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies and neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against SARS-associated coronavirus were assessed at regular intervals (at 1, 4, 7, 10, 16, and 24 months after the onset of disease) by use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and neutralization assay. IgG antibody and NAb titers were highly correlated, peaking at month 4 after the onset of disease and decreasing thereafter. IgG antibodies remained detectable in all patients until month 16, and they became undetectable in 11.8% of patients at month 24. The finding that NAbs remained detectable throughout follow-up is reassuring in terms of protection provided against reinfection; however, NAb titers decreased markedly after month 16

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