Prevalence of persistent SARS-CoV-2 in a large community surveillance study. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38383783/)

These scientists wanted to learn more about how the virus that causes COVID-19 can stay in some people's bodies for a long time. They found 381 people who still had the virus in their bodies at high levels for at least 30 days, and 54 of them had the virus for at least 60 days. They called this 'persistent infection' because the virus was still actively replicating in these people.

The scientists discovered that people with persistent infections were more likely to have long-lasting symptoms of COVID-19. They estimated that about 0.1-0.5% of infections could become persistent and last for at least 60 days.

They also found that the virus in some people changed a lot over time, with many new mutations appearing. These mutations could affect how the virus spreads and how well treatments like antibodies work against it. This study helps us understand more about how the virus behaves in our bodies and how it can change over time.

Ghafari M., Hall M., Golubchik T., Ayoubkhani D., House T., MacIntyre-Cockett G., Fryer HR., Thomson L., Nurtay A., Kemp SA., Ferretti L., Buck D., Green A., Trebes A., Piazza P., Lonie LJ., Studley R., Rourke E., Smith DL., Bashton M., Nelson A., Crown M., McCann C., Young GR., Santos RAND., Richards Z., Tariq MA., Cahuantzi R., Barrett J., Fraser C., Bonsall D., Walker AS., Lythgoe K. Prevalence of persistent SARS-CoV-2 in a large community surveillance study. Nature. 2024 Feb 21. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07029-4.