Researchers from the Netherlands have reported a particularly lengthy COVID-19 an infection in a person who died final 12 months – and warn of the emergence of extra harmful variants of the coronavirus.
The older man, who was immuno-compromised as a result of earlier diseases, was admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam in February 2022 with a COVID-19 an infection, in accordance with a press release.
He was constantly constructive for the coronavirus till his demise in October 2023 for a complete of 613 days.
Other instances of very lengthy infections in individuals whose immune programs couldn’t adequately struggle the virus have beforehand been reported.
The researchers, led by Magda Vergouwe from the University of Amsterdam, plan to current the outcomes at a congress of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona on April 27-30.
The case can be fascinating for researchers as a result of the coronavirus can change significantly strongly in individuals who have been contaminated for a very long time. This may result in variants of the virus rising that may extra simply overcome the immune programs of wholesome individuals.
Researchers within the Netherlands repeatedly took samples from the person to research the coronavirus’s genetic materials. They discovered greater than 50 mutations in comparison with the Omicron variant BA.1 that was circulating on the time, together with those who would enable the virus to evade the immune protection. Just 21 days after the person had acquired a sure anti-coronavirus drug, the virus additionally developed indicators of resistance to it.
The man ultimately died from a flare-up of considered one of his earlier diseases. As far as is thought, he had not contaminated anybody together with his mutated model of the coronavirus, additionally recognized underneath its scientific identify SARS-CoV-2.
This case “highlights the risk of new immune-evasive SARS-CoV-2 variants emerging in immuno-compromised patients,” the researchers say within the press launch.
They warn that the intensive growth of the virus in a single affected person may result in the emergence of distinctive variants.
It is important to intently monitor the coronavirus’s evolution in immunocompromised people. They added that variants may emerge and unfold in society, which is much less vulnerable to the immune programs of wholesome individuals.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
