A patient with Covid-19 arrived… 505 days

With an infection time of up to 505 days, equivalent to 1 year and more than 4 months, this may be the longest Covid-19 case ever recorded, the newspaper reported. The Independent (UK) quoted Dr. Luke Blagdon Snell, infectious disease specialist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (UK).

An immunocompromised patient in the UK tested positive for Covid-19 for 505 days SHUTTERSTOCK

However, Dr Snell said it is difficult to confirm this is the longest Covid-19 infection because not all cases on the planet. world are tested and reported.

Before that, the world’s longest Covid-19 case was recorded at 335 days.

The 505-day Covid-19 patient was one of nine patients that Dr. Snell and his team studied. At the start of the study, the patients were all infected with Covid-19 for at least 8 weeks. British media did not disclose which variant they were infected with.

All have weakened immune system due to various causes, such as organ transplantation, HIV infection, cancer or are being treated for certain illnesses. Out of these 9 patients, 5 did not survive.

During the study, the patients were tested for Covid-19 regularly. Their positive time is on average 73 days, of which 2 people have been infected for more than 1 year.

The team repeatedly analyzed the genetic code to determine if the patient was still infected with one variant or infected with another variant. What the team obtained was evidence that the virus mutates over time and forms mutations. These mutations are homologous to those occurring on variants that have spread widely.

These findings provide further evidence for the hypothesis that the new virus variant may develop from immunocompromised patients. However, this does not mean that variants have gone viral like Alpha, Delta and Omicron mutated from an immunocompromised person, Dr. Snell said.

From what has been obtained, the research team affirms that people still have to continue to be cautious when epidemic prevention measures are eased. Vaccinating, wearing a mask, especially in crowded places, is still a good way to protect yourself and those around you. The Independent.