UK Researchers Cure Man Who Had Covid for 411 Days

An Egyptian doctor wearing two protective masks checks a patient's lung X-ray (AFP)
An Egyptian doctor wearing two protective masks checks a patient's lung X-ray (AFP)
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UK Researchers Cure Man Who Had Covid for 411 Days

An Egyptian doctor wearing two protective masks checks a patient's lung X-ray (AFP)
An Egyptian doctor wearing two protective masks checks a patient's lung X-ray (AFP)

British researchers announced Friday they have cured a man who was continually infected with Covid for 411 days by analyzing the genetic code of his particular virus to find the right treatment.

Persistent Covid infection -- which is different to long Covid or repeated bouts of the disease -- occurs in a small number of patients with already weakened immune systems.

These patients can test positive for months or even years with the infection "rumbling along the whole time," said Luke Snell, a physician specializing in infectious diseases at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

The infections can pose a serious threat because around half of patients also have persistent symptoms such as lung inflammation, Snell told AFP, adding that much remains unknown about the condition.

In a new study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, a team of researchers at Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London describe how a 59-year-old man finally overcame his infection after more than 13 months.

The man, who has a weakened immune system due to a kidney transplant, caught Covid in December 2020 and continued to test positive until January this year.

To discover whether he had contracted Covid numerous times or if it was one persistent infection, the researchers used a rapid genetic analysis with nanopore sequencing technology.

The test, which can deliver results in as little as 24 hours, showed the man had an early B.1 variant which was dominant in late 2020 but has since been replaced by newer strains.

Because he had this early variant, the researchers gave him a combination of the casirivimab and imdevimab monoclonal antibodies from Regeneron.

Like most other antibody treatments, the treatment is no longer widely used because it is ineffective against newer variants such as Omicron.

But it successfully cured the man because he was battling a variant from an earlier phase of the pandemic.

- Resistant to treatment -
"The very new variants that are increasing in prevalence now are resistant to all the antibodies available in the UK, the EU and now even the US," Snell said.

The researchers used several such treatments to try to save a seriously ill 60-year-old man in August this year who had been infected since April.

However none worked.

"We really thought he was going to die," Snell said.

So the team crushed up two antiviral treatments not previously used together -- Paxlovid and remdesivir -- and administered them to the unconscious patient via a nasal tube, according to a non-peer-reviewed preprint study on the website ResearchSquare.

"Miraculously he cleared and perhaps this is now the avenue for how we treat these very difficult persistent infections," Snell said, emphasizing that this treatment may not translate for normal Covid cases.

At the ECCMID conference in April, the team announced the longest-known persistent infection in a man who tested positive for 505 days before his death.

That "very sad case" came earlier in the pandemic, Snell said, adding that he was grateful there were now so many more treatment options available.



Indonesia's Mount Ibu Erupts More than 1,000 Times this Month

Mount Ibu, on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, has erupted more than a thousand times this month. AZZAM / AFP/File
Mount Ibu, on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, has erupted more than a thousand times this month. AZZAM / AFP/File
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Indonesia's Mount Ibu Erupts More than 1,000 Times this Month

Mount Ibu, on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, has erupted more than a thousand times this month. AZZAM / AFP/File
Mount Ibu, on the Indonesian island of Halmahera, has erupted more than a thousand times this month. AZZAM / AFP/File

A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted at least a thousand times this month, according to an official report Sunday as efforts were underway to evacuate thousands of villagers living near the rumbling mountain.

Mount Ibu, on the remote island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, sent a column of smoke up to four kilometers (2.5 miles) into the sky in an eruption on Wednesday, AFP said.

Indonesian officials raised its alert status to the highest level and called for the evacuation of 3,000 people living in six nearby villages.

It was one of 1,079 eruptions by the volcano recorded since January 1 by Indonesia's Geological Agency, sending columns of ash reaching between 0.3 and 4 kilometers above its peak, according to the agency's data gathered by AFP.

The latest big eruption occurred on Sunday at 1:15 am local time as it spewed a towering cloud of ash 1.5 kilometers into the air.

"The ash was grey, with moderate to thick intensity, drifting southwest. A loud rumbling sound was heard all the way to Mount Ibu Observation Post," the agency said in a statement.

It added that the volcano had erupted 17 times on Sunday alone.

Despite deciding to evacuate affected villagers, local authorities had only managed to evacuate 517 residents as of Sunday, pledging to persuade those who remained to stay in safe shelters.

Many have refused to evacuate, arguing that they were used to the situation and were in harvest season.

"There might be economic considerations, as many residents are in the middle of harvesting crops. However, we will continue to educate the community and encourage them to evacuate," said Adietya Yuni Nurtono, Ternate district military commander in charge of a safe shelter.

Mount Ibu, one of Indonesia's most active volcanos, has shown a significant increase in activity since last June.

Residents living near Mount Ibu and tourists have been advised to avoid a five- to six-kilometer exclusion zone around the volcano's peak and to wear face masks in case of falling ash.

As of 2022, around 700,000 people were living on Halmahera island, according to official data.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity as it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Last November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703-meter (5,587-foot) twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores erupted more than a dozen times in one week, killing nine people in its initial explosion.

Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times last year, forcing thousands from nearby islands to evacuate.