Researchers working with hamsters at University of Wisconsin-Madison have found that prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 offers protection against future infection with the virus. They also found that treatment with serum from those recovering from the disease can help stop virus replication in the lungs.
This is important because hamsters show similarities to humans’ characteristics when infected with COVID-19. “The animals all possessed antibodies and did not get sick again, which suggests they developed protective immunity,” says Pete Halfmann, a research professor in Kawaoka’s U.S. lab. “But we still can’t say how long this protection lasts.”
SOURCE: Newswise June 22, 2020