A British man with COVID for 411 days is thought to have had the virus for the longest time and survived.
On Friday, British researchers revealed that they have treated a man with persistent COVID-19 infection by analyzing the genetic coding of his specific virus to identify the proper medication.
Persistent COVID-19 infection, which differs from long COVID or recurring bouts of the disease, occurs in a small proportion of patients with previously compromised immune systems.
The patient, who has a weakened immune system due to a kidney transplant, tested positive for the first time in December 2020. Despite no longer experiencing symptoms, he continued to test positive until January 2022.
No other documented incidence of a person being cured after such a protracted infection, according to doctors at Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospitals in London.
According to Luke Snell, a doctor with a focus on infectious illnesses at Guy's and St. Thomas' National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust, these patients can test positive for months or even years while the infection is "rumbling along the whole time,"
Dr. Snell, who also told AFP that there is still much to learn about the ailment, said the infections can represent a major hazard because nearly half of patients also experience lingering symptoms including lung inflammation.
A team of researchers from Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London describes how a 59-year-old man eventually beat his infection after more than 13 months in a new study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The researchers utilized a rapid genetic analysis utilizing nanopore sequencing technology to determine if he had contracted COVID-19 multiple times or if it was a single persistent infection.
The test, which may produce results in as little as 24 hours, revealed that the individual possessed an early B.1 variant that was dominant in late 2020 but has since been supplanted by newer strains.
He received a combination of the monoclonal antibodies casirivimab and imdevimab from Regeneron because he had this early variant.
"Miraculously, he cleared and perhaps this is now the avenue for how we treat these very difficult persistent infections," Dr Snell said. "Some people with weakened immune systems are still at risk of severe illness and becoming persistently infected. We are still working to understand the best way to protect and treat them."
The treating team has urged for greater study into antibody therapy for persistent COVID cases, and campaigners have campaigned for a new medicine, Evusheld, to be made available in the UK and Europe.
The team's findings were published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
