While millions tried to protect themselves from the corona virus, researchers in London infected volunteers with it. Now they are presenting the results. Was the risk worth it?
LONDON – Jacob Hopkins from Birmingham begins to beam when he tells how he was infected with Corona: Head back, then a fully hooded person dripped a liquid into his nose.
“I hit the doctor, we were both so excited,” the 24-year-old tells the German Press Agency. According to him, he was the first subject to be specifically infected with the corona virus by researchers at Imperial College in London as part of a study last year. Now, almost a year later, the first results of the controversial research project are available.
The central result of the so-called human challenge study: According to the researchers, the incubation phase of the virus should be significantly shorter than previously assumed – on average, symptoms appeared in the participants 42 hours, i.e. almost two days after infection. However: The results refer neither to omicron nor to delta, but to the wild type of the corona virus. Contrary to initial hopes, the research has dragged on.
The researchers instilled a low dose in a controlled setting in around 30 young, healthy adults who had not been previously vaccinated or had an infection. 16, i.e. a good half of them, became infected. So did Jacob Hopkins, who didn’t notice much in the first few days, but then got headaches, chills and flu symptoms. He spent around three weeks in a hermetically sealed room, monitored around the clock and repeatedly tested. Actually, he wanted to learn a language during that time, says Hopkins. But the investigations and tests would have taken a lot of time. Hopkins is not one to downplay Covid-19. “I know how much damage that did,” he says. That’s why he wants to help.
Human challenge trials have been used in the past, for example, in the development of flu and malaria vaccines. However, the subjects were initially administered a potential drug. The studies are extremely controversial among medical ethicists. Many argue that people are being put at unnecessary risk even though there are alternatives. According to a statement by the Association of Research-Based Drug Manufacturers, there are also severe courses in young people.
Peter Openshaw, one of the researchers involved in London, defends the approach. He knows the ethical concerns, he says on Wednesday in a switchboard with journalists. “But is it ethical not to carry out these studies if they bring advantages?” It is grateful that human challenge studies could in some cases replace animal experiments.
“From a scientific point of view, these studies offer a real advantage because the precise timing of contagion is known and therefore things like the interval between exposure and the nature of the viral load can be accurately described,” says Jonathan Van-Tam, a medical adviser to the UK Government, which actively supported the research. The British study is considered the first in the world to do research in this way in connection with Covid-19.
Another finding of the research, which was released this week as an unpeered preprint study, is that the majority of the viral load excreted came from the subjects’ noses instead of the throats, where it was weaker and cleared faster. The British researchers deduce from this how important it is to also wear masks over the nose.
Originally, the scientists had hoped that their research would speed up the development of vaccines. But these were also used with classic clinical tests at record speed. Nevertheless, the researchers still see great potential for their approach for this pandemic, especially when testing vaccines specially adapted to variants: In the current situation, with high levels of immunization in the population and many random infections, this is no longer the case for vaccine developers easy to find suitable test subject groups to prove the effectiveness of their drug. “Human challenge studies can help here,” says study author Chris Chiu in the briefing.
The team is currently preparing another round in which volunteers will be infected with the Delta variant. The aim is to induce breakthrough infections in people who already have antibodies. Jacob Hopkins could imagine getting infected again. He was exhausted after the three-week quarantine and slept a whole day. But: “It was a great experience. I would do it again at any time.” dpa
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