Covid Patient Dies After Record 613-Day Infection Spawned New Mutations
- Novel coronavirus strain acquired more than 50 mutations
- 72-year-old patient died in September from blood condition
The 20-month-long SARS-CoV-2 infection is the longest known, according to the researchers, who are presenting the case at a medical meeting in Barcelona next week.
Photographer: Allison Dinner/BloombergA Covid-19 patient with a weakened immune system incubated a highly mutated novel strain over 613 days before succumbing to an underlying illness, researchers in the Netherlands found.
The patient, a 72-year-old man with a blood disorder, failed to mount a strong immune response to multiple Covid shots before catching the omicron variant in February 2022. Detailed analysis of specimens collected from more than two dozen nose and throat swabs found the coronavirus developed resistance to sotrovimab, a Covid antibody treatment, within a few weeks, scientists at the University of Amsterdam’s Centre for Experimental and Molecular Medicine said. It later acquired over 50 mutations, including some that suggested an enhanced ability to evade immune defenses, they said.