Expert: "Result of Virus Persisting Long-Term in Body with Weak Immunity"
An image of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) virus captured with an electron microscope. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] It has been reported that as many as 18 different virus mutations were found in a single patient diagnosed with the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Russia.
On the 12th (local time), Russian local media such as the daily Izvestia cited a report from Russian experts in the fields of viruses and infectious diseases, stating that 18 mutations of the COVID-19 virus were discovered in one female patient.
A (47 years old), who tested positive for COVID-19 while undergoing chemotherapy for stage 4 lymphoma at a hospital in April last year, underwent multiple COVID-19 diagnostic tests over several months after the diagnosis. It was reported that she tested positive until her last test on September 9th last year.
Experts confirmed through comparative analysis of samples collected from A during this period that various virus mutations had developed.
Regarding this, experts speculated in the report, "The generation of multiple mutations is the result of the COVID-19 virus persisting for a long time within a single individual with weakened immunity," and "It appears that the virus continuously changed to adapt to the host as it remained in the body for an extended period."
On the 11th (local time), a healthcare worker is measuring the temperature of an elderly patient at a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa. / Photo by Yonhap News
Regarding the possibility that mutations increased the virus's infectivity and transmission speed, they stated, "Since the mutated virus found in the woman has not widely spread, it does not seem to be highly dangerous," but also noted, "It is still too early to draw conclusions about transmissibility or lethality."
Meanwhile, awareness of COVID-19 virus mutations has heightened due to a new variant reported in the UK last November. The UK government announced at the time that the UK virus variant could be up to 70% more transmissible than the existing COVID-19 virus.
On the 18th of last month, South African health authorities reported a new COVID-19 virus mutation. In South Korea, a case of infection with the South African variant was confirmed on the 2nd of this month.
A new virus mutation has also been reported in Japan. On the 2nd, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that genetic analysis of samples from four men and women who tested positive for COVID-19 during airport quarantine after arriving from Brazil confirmed infection with a new variant. This virus mutation shares some similarities with the previously reported UK and South African variants but has a different genetic sequence.
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan is currently investigating the characteristics of this variant, including its transmissibility.
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