Jakarta, CNNI Indonesia —
SarS-CoV-2 aka COVID-19 defined as a respiratory infection. However, the latest researchers reveal that the spread of the corona virus reaches the entire body up to brain.
Dozens of recent autopsies have shown evidence of the virus throughout the body, including the lungs, heart, spleen, kidneys, liver, colon, chest, muscles, nerves, reproductive tract, eyes and brain.
Researchers have even revealed that remnants of the coronavirus have been found in the brains of patients who died 230 days after they started showing symptoms.
“Our data show that in some patients, SARS-CoV-2 can cause systemic infections and persist in the body for months,” the authors said. Education led by researchers from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
In the past, autopsies on those who have contracted Covid-19 have shown the first signs of multi-organ spread, with genetic remnants of the virus appearing in various tissues, organs and fluids.
In July 2020, a further autopsy showed evidence of blood clots in nearly every vital organ of those who had contracted Covid-19.
New research from the NIH now replicates and confirms these findings in more detail than ever before.
The researchers say their latest findings are the most comprehensive analysis to date of the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in the human body.
The study involved 44 autopsies, during which researchers detected and quantified SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA levels at 85 sites and fluids. This genetic information indicates where the virus may have replicated during a person’s lifetime.
From autopsies conducted in April 2020 to March 2021, the researchers found that older, unvaccinated individuals who died of Covid-19 showed multiple signs of SarS-CoV-2 replication at 79 sites and body fluids.
Also, according to reports, few changes were observed within two weeks of the first symptoms appearing ScienceAlert.
Lung conditions
While the patient’s lungs showed most of the inflammation and injury. While the brain and other organs showed no significant tissue changes.
The research team isn’t sure why this happened. It could be that the human immune system in other organs is not as good at providing protection as it is in the lungs.
In the later stages of recovery from Covid-19, researchers found evidence that the lungs were less infected than they were to begin with. While other locations didn’t show nearly the same increase.
“Our results suggest that although the highest burden of SarS-CoV-2 is in respiratory tissue, the virus can spread throughout the body,” concluded the researchers.
How the virus spread so far and wide is yet another mystery that needs to be solved. However, the autopsy results in this study showed no detectable residue of the virus in blood plasma, suggesting that the pathogen was spread by other means.
The results of this NIH study did not specifically experiment with older Covid-19 patients. But the findings are argued to be relevant to the treatment plan.
Antiviruses like Paxlovid, for example, can help the human immune system clear viral cells from tissues, organs and fluids that may be hard to reach.
“We hope to be able to replicate data on the persistence of the virus and study its relationship with Covid-19 patients in the long term,” said Stephen Hewitt of the National Cancer Institute who was involved in the research published in the journal Nature.
(can/arh)
