New research seems to confirm the suspicion that the coronavirus can infect many parts of the human body, not just our respiratory system. It was also found that the virus can remain in the body even after the initial symptoms have subsided. Initial findings could also shed light on a complex, chronic disease known as "long covid" that some healers experience.
SARS-CoV-2 is considered primarily a virus that affects the respiratory system, much like the flu or other human coronaviruses. In mild cases, acute symptoms usually affect the upper respiratory tract, while more severe cases are often associated with infection and pneumonia. Research suggests that the virus can travel throughout the body and infect other tissues as well, thanks to the receptors it uses to take over cells. Recently, scientists found evidence that the coronavirus can easily infect fat and immune cells.
The scientists behind this new study say this is the most comprehensive look yet at how the coronavirus can infect different parts of the human body and brain. For this purpose, scientists conducted an autopsy of 44 people infected with the coronavirus. In all but five cases, the infection was directly related to the death of the person.
The team found multiple signs of the coronavirus outside the airways in both early and late infection. His presence was by far highest in the airways and lungs. But they also found viral RNA in cardiovascular tissue in nearly 80% of the patients; in gastrointestinal tissue in 72% of patients and in muscle, skin and tissues in 68% of patients. .
"Our data proves that SARS-CoV-2 causes a systemic infection and can linger in the body for months."- wrote the authors in their article in Sunday as a preprint in the journal "Nature".
This research, however, has significant limitations. Although the cases involved people who were severely ill with COVID-19, the study was conducted between April 2022 and March 2022, when relatively few people were vaccinated. Also, the arrival of new virus variants such as Delta and Omikron from March may yetcomplicate the situation more.
After all, these findings provide a clearer picture of how acute SARS-CoV-2 infection works and what problems it can cause once the disease has cleared up. Some experts believe that at least some cases of "long COVID" can be attributed to severe infection.
The research team found little evidence that the presence of the virus outside the lungs was associated with direct inflammation or other virus-related cell damage, even in severe infections. More research is needed to see exactly what long-term damage to the body is causing the coronavirus.