A 72-year-old man in America has been recorded to have had Covid-19 for a remarkable 613 days, during which time he developed 50 different types of mutations in his body before passing away. This patient had a blood disorder that prevented him from mounting an immune response even after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.
In February 2022, he was infected with the Omicron mutation, which eventually developed resistance to the drug sotrovimab, one of the approved treatments for Covid-19. Experts analyzed the patient’s samples and found over 50 virus mutations in his body that could evade the immune system. While the mutated virus did not infect anyone else, the case highlights the potential for prolonged illness to lead to genetic changes in the virus, potentially creating new mutations.
Scientists have also compiled genomic data from wastewater samples collected over the past four years from communities with severe Covid-19 cases. This data revealed that many individuals may have been infected with nCoV variants without realizing it, leading to prolonged symptoms. The study also found that prolonged Covid-19 symptoms were more common and severe in patients who had the disease before the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Prior to this case, the longest recorded Covid-19 infection was in a British man who was infected for 505 days before passing away. The findings from these cases underscore the need for ongoing research and monitoring of Covid-19 evolution and its impact on different patient populations.
The research team emphasized the risk of persistent Covid-19 infection in immunocompromised individuals, stressing the importance of genomic monitoring of virus evolution in such patients. Persistent infections are more common in immunocompromised individuals, and this case serves as a rare and extreme example.
In conclusion, these findings highlight
