"COVID-19 Obsessed with Me"… Man Tested Positive 78 Times, Isolated for 14 Months

Virus Does Not Disappear Due to Leukemia

Mujafar Kayasan.
Photo by Daily Sabah Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The story of a Turkish man who has tested positive for COVID-19 78 times and has been in isolation for 14 months has been shared. It is known that the reason he has not been declared fully recovered is due to leukemia.

According to multiple foreign media including the Times of India on the 14th (local time), Muzaffer Kayasan (56), who lives in Istanbul, Turkey, tested positive for COVID-19 in all 78 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests conducted since November 2020.

Kayasan, who suffers from leukemia, thought he was destined to die when he first contracted COVID-19 14 months ago. However, his body continued to endure, and he is still fighting the coronavirus to this day.

When his PCR test came back positive again last week, Kayasan joked, "COVID is obsessed with me."

After spending nine months in the hospital, Kayasan returned home and has been living in solitude for another five months.

He has been holding on with the support of his family. Kayasan often fully equips himself with a mask and gloves when his granddaughter Azra comes to visit, smiling as he tells her, "Once I get better, we will definitely play together."

Kayasan’s son said, "My father is always a positive person," adding, "He said, 'The traffic light is red right now, so I just can’t cross yet.'"

Meanwhile, medical staff believe that the prolonged COVID-19 battle Kayasan is experiencing is due to leukemia. According to a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine, COVID-19 patients with weakened immune systems are more likely to remain infected for extended periods. Recently, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society also reported that one in four blood cancer patients fails to produce antibodies even after completing vaccination.

Serap Simsek Yavuz, Kayasan’s attending physician and professor of infectious diseases and clinical microbiology at Istanbul University, stated, "This is the longest duration of COVID infection we have seen," adding, "Because of his weakened immune system, we are also cautious about the recently circulating variants."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.