For most people suffering from a Covid-19 infection, the quarantine period is of 14 days, and they test negative after two weeks or less. However, an immunocompromised patient suffering from severe antiphospholipid syndrome tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 infection for more than 335 days. The persistence and evolution of the virus have been documented, and the 45-years-old woman got rid of the Covid-19 infection after almost a year.
The woman is a blood cancer surviver
The immunocompromised patient was first admitted to the hospital in March 2020 at the National Institute of Health Campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Doctors discovered that after ten months since her hospitalization, the patient continued to experience mild or no symptoms of the Covid-19 disease and still tested positive. Health experts have analyzed this unique case, and it is the longest case of Covid-19 infection ever recorded.
Virologists concluded it was the same virus and not different infections
Virologists from the NIH lab confirmed that the virus continued to replicate inside the host and was a rare situation. Due to her blood cancer, the patient had low levels of B cells, which are responsible for producing antibodies. After sequencing the genome to determine it was the same initial virus and offering her treatment, the woman finally tested negative this year.
Immunocompromised people are advised to get booster shots
The FDA and as well as foreign health organizations advice immunocompromised patients to get booster shots in order to get extra protection against the virus. They are the most vulnerable ones in front of the virus. This rare occurrence is not singular. In another research, an HIV patient carried the Covid-19 virus for around 216 days, and researchers determined the virus had mutated over 30 times. Those with a weak immune system and elderly were among the first to be offered Covid-19 vaccines.
