UK COVID Patient Tests Positive for 505 Days... "Longest Record Ever"

Commuters are crossing London Bridge in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A case of testing positive for COVID-19 for more than 16 months has been confirmed in the United Kingdom.

On the 22nd (local time), foreign media including the BBC reported that researchers at St. Thomas' Hospital in the UK are scheduled to present a case of a patient infected with COVID-19 for 505 days at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID).

According to foreign media, this patient, who was first diagnosed in early 2020, had underlying conditions and was in a severely immunocompromised state. Despite regular testing and treatment over 72 weeks and administration of antiviral drugs, the virus did not disappear, and the patient eventually died last year. It was reported that the patient tested positive in all 50 tests conducted.

The research team stated that this patient had the longest confirmed infection period among known cases to date.

Furthermore, genetic analysis showed that this patient was not infected multiple times but had a persistent single infection. The researchers explained that this differs from "long COVID," which is a sequela where symptoms persist even after the virus has disappeared from the body.

The researchers emphasized that although such cases are rare, they should not be overlooked. Researcher Luke Blegdon Snell warned, "A long-term infection means the virus continues to adapt to the human host," adding, "It could be an opportunity for the coronavirus to generate new mutations." However, he also noted, "Long-term infected individuals may not be contagious to others."

Meanwhile, the research team introduced cases of nine patients who tested positive for COVID-19 for more than eight weeks in this presentation.

The average infection duration of these patients was 73 days, and two were infected for more than a year. They were in a severely weakened immune state due to organ transplants, cancer treatment, and other factors.

Among them, five survived; two recovered without treatment, two overcame the infection with antibody therapy and antiviral treatment, and one is still reported to be infected.

The Associated Press stated that these research results demonstrate the importance of protecting those vulnerable to COVID-19.

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