Doctors in the UK have released details of what they believe to be the longest Covid-19 infection on record, lasting more than 16 months.
The patient, who had underlying conditions, had detectable levels of the virus for 505 days, and died in hospital last year.
Most people recover quickly on their own, but in rare cases, infections can become prolonged in those with weakened immune systems.
Experts suspect extended infections in those who are immunocompromised play a role in creating Covid-19 variants, because the virus has more time to experiment and learn how to avoid defences.
The patient in the UK first caught the virus in early 2020.
Dozens of positive tests
The infection was confirmed by a PCR test, which was repeated each time the person visited hospital over the next 72 weeks, about 50 times in total.
The patient tested positive every time, never becoming clear of the virus, despite receiving antiviral treatment.
Tests revealed it was the same infection and no mutations were spawned.
“We have seen few patients with positivity of Covid [for] even more than three months, but we haven't come across [any] like those reported — more than 16 months,” said Dr Sarla Kumari from Canadian Specialist Hospital Dubai.
“Anyone with multiple comorbidities and a weak immune system can find it difficult to eradicate the virus.”
Cases of such prolonged infections are rare, but viral persistence is suspected in playing a role in long Covid, a much more common problem characterised by lingering symptoms.
In that theory, which is one of several to explain the phenomenon, the virus hides out in the body somewhere, continuing to wreak havoc.
“Long Covid is the term used when people experience Covid-19 symptoms for more than 12 weeks,” said Dr Karthikeyan Dakshinamurthy, a specialist in internal medicine at NMC Royal Hospital DIP.
“The most common symptoms patients experience are fatigue, chest tightness or shortness of breath, inability to concentrate on work and dizziness.”
Symptoms can include long-term changes in smell or taste.
“Long Covid symptoms can happen in normal people without any risk factors. They need to rule out other causes of these symptoms. People should understand long Covid symptoms,” Dr Dakshinamurthy said.
This week it was revealed that a woman caught two Covid variants in 20 days — the shortest gap so far confirmed by genome sequencing.
The 31-year-old healthcare worker first tested positive using a PCR test on December 20, 2021, 12 days after receiving a booster shot. She was totally asymptomatic.
But on January 10, 21 days after her previous positive test, she began to feel unwell with a cough and fever. She performed another PCR test, which was also positive.
The infections were caused by the Delta and Omicron variants.
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Full Party in the Park line-up
2pm – Andreah
3pm – Supernovas
4.30pm – The Boxtones
5.30pm – Lighthouse Family
7pm – Step On DJs
8pm – Richard Ashcroft
9.30pm – Chris Wright
10pm – Fatboy Slim
11pm – Hollaphonic
More coverage from the Future Forum
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
