Man’s battle with COVID for a record 613 days raises variant concerns
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NEW YORK, April 21: A team of researchers from the Netherlands has documented an exceptionally long-lasting COVID-19 infection in an elderly man who succumbed to the virus last year at age 72, raising concerns about the potential emergence of more dangerous coronavirus variants.
According to a statement released by the researchers, the elderly man, already immunocompromised due to prior health conditions, was hospitalized in Amsterdam in February 2022 after testing positive for COVID-19. Remarkably, he remained positive for the virus until his demise in October 2023, marking a staggering 613 days of infection.
Instances of prolonged COVID-19 infections in individuals with compromised immune systems have been previously reported. The findings of this case, led by Magda Vergouwe from the University of Amsterdam, are set to be presented at the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases congress in Barcelona from April 27-30.
Researchers underscore the significance of this case, highlighting the potential for the coronavirus to undergo significant mutations during prolonged infections, thereby posing a heightened risk of generating variants capable of evading immune responses in healthy individuals.
Analysis of samples taken from the patient revealed over 50 mutations compared to the Omicron variant BA.1 prevalent at the time, some of which were associated with immune evasion. Alarmingly, just 21 days after the man received a specific anti-coronavirus drug, the virus showed signs of developing resistance to it.
Despite the extensive viral development within the patient, there is no evidence to suggest that he transmitted the mutated virus, scientifically known as Sars-CoV-2, to others.
In a press release, the researchers emphasized the pressing need to closely monitor the evolution of COVID-19 in immunocompromised individuals. They warned of the potential emergence and spread of novel variants that could pose challenges to the immune systems of healthy individuals.
The unprecedented duration of the infection in this patient serves as a stark reminder of the virus’s adaptability and the critical importance of ongoing surveillance and vigilance in combating the pandemic.
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