Researchers Hugo Zeberg and Svante Pääbo studied a group of genes, or haplotypes, that modern man apparently inherited from Neanderthal man. This haplotype occurs in about 16 percent of the population of Europe and about half of the population of South Asia. In Africa and East Asia, on the other hand, it is virtually non-existent. Modern humans and Neanderthals interbreed at various times in Earth’s history, exchanging genetic information.
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Genes acquired by humans after Neanderthals may be a risk factor for covid-19, according to a new study. Others are age, gender and health status. The most common risk factors are obesity, diabetes and heart problems.
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Zeberg and Pääbo, who work at the Carolingian Institute in Stockholm and the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, claim in their study that the highest incidence of Neanderthal haplotype is in Bangladesh’s population, where it occurs in up to 63 percent of people. According to recent British studies, the risk of death from covid-19 in people originating in Bangladesh is up to twice as high as in the average population.
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According to a study published in the journal Nature, the risk of having to connect a covid-19 patient to pulmonary ventilation is up to three times higher if they have a Neanderthal haplotype in their genetic makeup. “It is striking that the genetic heritage of Neanderthals has such tragic consequences in the current pandemic,” Pääbo said. “We need to find out why this is as soon as possible,” he added.
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