Wuhan's coronavirus patient helps scientists study how body fights the disease

Scientists in Australia have found how the body's immune system responds in relation to the clinical and virological features of a patient with mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease. The research was published in Nature Medicine journal on March 17. The study shows that patients are recovering from the virus as they would do in the case of normal flu. 

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The scientists studied tests of a 47-year-old woman from China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease. According to the study, increased antibody-secreting cells (ASCs), follicular helper T cells (TFH cells) and other immune cells were detected in the blood of the woman before symptomatic recovery. Prof. Katherine Kedzierska, an author on the study told media that they were excited about the results as it captured the emergence of immune cells in the infected person prior to clinical recovery. Katherine Kedzierska said that more than a dozen scientists worked on the project round the clock to deliver the analysis.

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As per reports, other scientists from across the world have lauded the find that they believe could be a 'big breakthrough' in developing the vaccine for the disease. Melbourne's Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity has since then received donations from the Australian government and businesses around the world, including Chinese billionaire Jack Ma. Health experts have suggested that the vaccine for coronavirus could take at least a year to develop.

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Coronavirus outbreak

The COVID-19 has claimed more than 8,000 lives across the world and has infected over 2,00,000 people globally. China is the most affected country in the world as experts believe that the virus originated from a seafood market in Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. Italy, Iran and Spain are the most affected countries outside mainland China, where a combined death toll has crossed the 4,000 mark. 

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