Neutralizing antibody function provides a foundation for the efficacy of vaccines and therapies. Here, using a robust in vitro Ebola virus (EBOV) pseudo-particle infection assay and a well-defined set of solid-phase assays, we describe a wide spectrum of antibody responses in a cohort of healthy survivors of the Sierra Leone EBOV outbreak of 2013-2016. Pseudo-particle virus-neutralizing antibodies correlated with total anti-EBOV reactivity and neutralizing antibodies against live EBOV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The lack of approved specific therapeutic agents to treat coronavirus disease (COVID-19) associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has led to the rapid implementation of convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) trials in many countries, including the United Kingdom. Effective CPT is likely to require high titres of neutralising antibody (nAb) in convalescent donations. Understanding the relationship between functional neutralising antibodies and antibody levels to specific SARS-CoV-2 proteins in scalable assays will be crucial for the success of a large-scale collection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSerological reactivity was analysed in plasma from 436 individuals with a history of disease compatible with COVID-19, including 256 who had been laboratory-confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Over 99% of laboratory-confirmed cases developed a measurable antibody response (254/256) and 88% harboured neutralising antibodies (226/256). Antibody levels declined over 3 months following diagnosis, emphasising the importance of the timing of convalescent plasma collections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The frequency of asymptomatic infection with Ebola virus is unclear: previous estimates vary and there is no standard test. Asymptomatic infection with Ebola virus could contribute to population immunity, reducing spread. If people with asymptomatic infection are infectious it could explain re-emergences of Ebola virus disease (EVD) without known contact.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 infections in the English population (including blood donors) is unknown, but is probably widespread, and the virus has been detected in pooled plasma products. HEV-infected donors have been retrospectively identified through investigation of reported cases of possible transfusion-transmitted hepatitis E. The frequency of HEV transmission by transfusion and its outcome remains unknown.
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