Record of having Covid-19 for 613 days, researchers warn of dangerous variants

Amsterdam [Netherlands], April 21: Researchers from the Netherlands recently announced a case of Covid-19 infection lasting up to 613 days in a man who passed away last year.
According to a statement from the researchers, the above mentioned elderly man, immunocompromised due to previous illnesses, was admitted to the hospital in the Dutch capital Amsterdam in February 2022 due to Covid-19 infection. .
Test results showed that this patient was continuously positive for the virus that causes Covid-19 ( Sars-CoV-2 ) until his death in October 2023 for a total of 613 days, according to DPA News Agency.
Other cases of prolonged Covid-19 infection in people whose immune systems were unable to fully fight off SARS-CoV-2 have been reported previously.
The researchers, led by scientist Magda Vergouwe from the University of Amsterdam, plan to present the results of their study on the patient at the conference of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona on June 1. 27-30.4.
The case of Covid-19 infection lasting up to 613 days is also very interesting for researchers because SARS-CoV-2 can mutate especially strongly in people infected for that long. This condition carries the risk of variants of SARS-CoV-2 that can more easily overcome the immune system of healthy people.
Researchers in the Netherlands continuously took samples from the above man to analyze the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2. As a result, they found a total of more than 50 mutations compared to the BA.1 variant of the Omicron variant circulating at the time, including mutations that allowed the virus to evade the immune system.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper