Neanderthal DNA in patients increases risk of severe COVID-19 infection; finds study

A new study conducted by Germany's Max Planck Institute published Wednesday, September 30 has found that a strand of  DNA increases the risk of developing severe Covid-19 infection which was passed on from Neanderthals to modern humans.   Hugo Zeberg, a veteran anthropologist at the institute, said in a statement that, "The probability that humans who inherited this gene variation have to be put on a ventilator when they contract the novel coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 is three times higher". 
According to the study, people carrying Neanderthals genes are at a higher risk of hospitalization and respiratory failure who become infected with COVID-19. The risk associated with the gene cluster is similar to other risks like age or certain pre-existing conditions.

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63% of the population carry the gene

The study is published in the journal Nature which compared the clusters to genes of Neanderthals and their mysterious sister group, Denisovans. It has been found that the strands of DNA that makes patients more likely to fall ill are from a  Neanderthal in Croatia. According to the study, the cluster of the gene is most commonly found in Bangladesh, where 63% of the population carry at least one copy of the DNA sequence. 16% of people in Europe today also carry the same gene. 

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Zeberg said, "It turned out modern humans inherited these gene variations from Neanderthals when they mixed 60,000 years ago". The German researchers said that, "It is alarming that a genetic heritage from the Neanderthals can have such tragic consequences in the current pandemic". 

 

Another research presented at the ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID) reveals that most of the patients who tested positive for coronavirus suffer ongoing fatigue after they have recovered from the illness. The researchers have found that even after 10 weeks of recovering from COVID-19, patients reported persistent tiredness and exhaustion.  
Dr. Liam Townsend, an infectious disease doctor at St. James's Hospital and Trinity Translational Medicine Institute in Dublin, Ireland who led the study has said in a statement, "Fatigue is a common symptom in those presenting with symptomatic COVID-19 infection. Whilst the presenting features of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been well-characterized, the medium and long-term consequences of infection remain unexplored".
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Image: AP