Altered herpesvirus-specific immune response is associated with long COVID

Long COVID shows selective, time-dependent alteration of herpesvirus-specific immune memory, with reduced early antibody avidity and CD4 T-cell magnitude despite broadly preserved antibody abundance.

• Why it matters: Persistent immune dysregulation in long COVID is known, but whether immunity to latent herpesviruses is altered—and how this changes over time—was unclear.
• What they did: Antibody reactivity, avidity, and herpesvirus-specific T-cell responses were profiled in long COVID and recovered convalescent controls at 4, 8, and 24 months after SAR-CoV-2 infection, alongside CMV/EBV responder frequencies and circulating B-cell subsets.
• The result: Antibody abundance and responder frequencies for CMV and EBV were broadly preserved, while early antibody avidity and virus-specific CD4 T-cell magnitude were reduced; lower EBV avidity was linked to poorer quality of life and unrecovered status.

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