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. 2020 Mar;25(11):2000266.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.11.2000266.

Serological and molecular findings during SARS-CoV-2 infection: the first case study in Finland, January to February 2020

Anu Haveri  1 , Teemu Smura  2 , Suvi Kuivanen  2 , Pamela Österlund  1 , Jussi Hepojoki  2   3 , Niina Ikonen  1 , Marjaana Pitkäpaasi  1 , Soile Blomqvist  1 , Esa Rönkkö  1 , Anu Kantele  4 , Tomas Strandin  2 , Hannimari Kallio-Kokko  5 , Laura Mannonen  5 , Maija Lappalainen  5 , Markku Broas  6 , Miao Jiang  1   7 , Lotta Siira  1 , Mika Salminen  1 , Taneli Puumalainen  1 , Jussi Sane  1 , Merit Melin  1 , Olli Vapalahti  2   5 , Carita Savolainen-Kopra  1
Affiliations

Serological and molecular findings during SARS-CoV-2 infection: the first case study in Finland, January to February 2020

Anu Haveri et al. Euro Surveill. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

The first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Finland was confirmed on 29 January 2020. No secondary cases were detected. We describe the clinical picture and laboratory findings 3-23 days since the first symptoms. The SARS-CoV-2/Finland/1/2020 virus strain was isolated, the genome showing a single nucleotide substitution to the reference strain from Wuhan. Neutralising antibody response appeared within 9 days along with specific IgM and IgG response, targeting particularly nucleocapsid and spike proteins.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antibodies; coronavirus; humoral immunity; immunofluorescence assay; microneutralisation test; western blotting; whole-genome sequencing.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: LS is a co-investigator in an unrelated study, for which THL has received research funding from GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines. The other authors report no potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Timeline of events around the first COVID-19 case imported to Finland, January–February 2020
Figure 2
Figure 2
Immunofluorescence assay of serum samples, COVID-19 index case, Finland, January–February 2020
Figure 3
Figure 3
Western blot of mock- and SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero E6 cells using patient serum collected 20 days after onset of symptoms, Finland, January–February 2020
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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