HIV patient had COVID for over 7 months, infection mutated over 30 times

Of the mutations found in the patient, both the UK and South African variants were noted to be present at one point or another throughout the length of the woman's infection.

A man walks past a poster covering the side of a building ahead of a 21 day lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cape Town, South Africa, March 26, 2020.

(photo credit: MIKE HUTCHINGS / REUTERS)

An HIV-positive woman with a persistent coronavirus infection that lasted 216 days straight had the virus mutate within her over 30 times, according to new research.

The study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, detailed the HIV-positive patient's more than seven month infection as part of a cohort study of 300 other people with HIV - exploring the effect of a SARS-CoV-2 infection when introduced to an immune system with a present HIV infection.

Of the mutations found in the patient, both the UK and South African variants were noted to be present at one point or another throughout the length of the woman's infection.

Throughout the course of the study, the woman, identified as being a 36-year-old living in South Africa, flip-flopped between stages of being asymptomatic and symptomatic, and through the symptomatic stages she reportedly shared some of the normal symptoms associated with a typical coronavirus infection - such as sore throat, cough, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, etc.

Read more: https://www.jpost.com/health-science/hiv-patient-had-covid-for-over-7-months-infection-mutated-over-30-times-670398