COVID-19 record: man had coronavirus for 505 days and now his case is studied by science

A man from United Kingdom suffered coronavirus for a total of 505 days, reported a group of British scientists. Members of the Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust revealed that “certainly seems to be infection by COVID-19 longest since the start of the outbreak in late 2019″.

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The finding was reported by Dr. Luke Blagdon Snell days before giving a lecture on “persistent cases of coronavirus” in Portugal. The longest running case up to that time used to be that of a woman in Maryland who had tested positive for COVID-19 for 335 days in a row.

Research by Snell’s team sought to determine how the variants mutate and evolve in people with long-term infections. The study included nine patients who suffered from the infectious disease eight weeks ago.

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All had weakened immune systems due to organ transplants, HIV, cancer or treatment for other diseases. Repeat tests showed that their infections persisted for an average of 73 days, while only two patients carried the infectious disease for more than a year.

In each test, the scientists analyzed the genetic code of the virus in each of the patients to make sure that it was the same strain and that the people did not have COVID-19 more than once. Genetic sequencing showed that the virus changed over time and even adapted to the environment.

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“In long COVID-19, it is generally assumed that the virus has been cleared from the body but symptoms persist”, Snell said, later adding: “In persistent infection, this represents continuous and active replication of the virus within the human body..

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Still, none of the patients generated new mutations that became variants of concern. There is also no evidence that they have spread the virus to others. It was during the trials that the group of researchers found the Briton in question, whose name was kept secret.

The man tested positive in 2020, was treated for the infectious disease with Remdesivir, and died in 2021. The cause of death for the subject, who had pre-existing conditions, is still unknown. The rest of the patients in the trials survived the virus, either with the help of treatment or without it.

Only one of the individuals still has the virus. So far, he is on day 412 of the infection. The researchers are confident that more treatments will be developed to help people with persistent infections beat the virus.

Although cases of persistent infection are rare, experts say there are many people with weak immune systems who are vulnerable to severe COVID-19 and that they try to stay safe since some governments have lifted restrictions and people are starting to take off their masks.

With information from AP.

Source: Elcomercio