United States: A man enduring the lengthiest bout of COVID infection on record grappled with the illness for an unprecedented span of 613 days, during which the infection mutated into a novel variant, confounding medical experts.
The 72-year-old individual, whose identity remains undisclosed, received a diagnosis of the omicron strain in February 2022, as per findings from the University of Amsterdam, as reported by Time.
This marked the lengthiest documented period of viral infection in history, as indicated by researchers, according to the New York Post.
Despite undergoing multiple vaccinations, the patient’s immune system, already compromised by a blood disorder predating the contraction of COVID, proved insufficient in generating an adequate count of white blood cells or antibodies to counteract the virus.
While the majority can conquer the coronavirus within a few weeks, conventional medical interventions proved futile in the case of the patient.
Physicians swiftly discerned that the individual had developed resistance to Sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody utilized in the early stages of COVID-19 treatment, following numerous nasal and throat swabs conducted in pursuit of effective therapy.
Furthermore, it was revealed that the production of anti-spike antibodies within the initial month was minimal, leading to the realization that the patient’s immune system was incapable of eradicating the virus.
Regrettably, the patient succumbed to the illness in the autumn of 2023, owing to a compromised immune system compounded by an underlying blood disorder, as reported by the New York Post.
However, investigations revealed that the virus underwent nearly 50 mutations during its prolonged residency within the individual’s body, culminating in the emergence of an ultra-mutated variant, as per reports.
There were no indications that this Frankenstein-esque variant had been transmitted to others.
Despite the unsettling nature of a 20-month-long, mutating COVID infection, Magda Vergouwe, a medical scholar from the Amsterdam University Medical Center, who is slated to present the case at the ESCMID Global Congress in Barcelona, remarked, “The duration of infection in this instance is extraordinary.”
“Prolonged infections in immunocompromised individuals are considerably more prevalent compared to the general populace,” Vergouwe stated, as quoted by The Sun. “This underscores the peril of persistent infection, as unique viral variants may emerge through extensive evolution.”
Vergouwe acknowledged the delicate balance between safeguarding against perilous new variants and offering compassionate, supportive end-of-life care to severely ill patients.
“We stress the significance of ongoing genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 evolution in immunocompromised individuals with persistent infections, given the potential public health ramifications of potentially introducing viral escape variants into the community,” Vergouwe emphasized, the New York Post mentioned.
Moreover, scientists analyzing genomic data from wastewater have unearthed evidence suggesting that individuals may have harbored significantly mutated coronaviruses for over four years, unbeknownst to them, as reported by Time.
Vergouwe elucidated that this case adds to a growing body of evidence documenting patients testing positive for the same infection for over a year, albeit noting that this instance stands as the lengthiest recorded case she has encountered.
Prior to this, the lengthiest documented case of COVID-19 occurred in a British individual who endured the virus for 505 days before succumbing.
Studies have indicated that 24.4% of American adults who tested positive for COVID-19 experienced persistent symptoms lasting three months or longer.
Previous research has demonstrated that long COVID was more prevalent and severe in patients infected prior to the emergence of the Omicron variant in 2021, as well as in those who were unvaccinated or experienced reinfection.