Woman With 'Uncontrolled' HIV Infection Had COVID-19 For 9 Months, Virus Mutated 21 Times

A 21-year-old woman, who had an "uncontrolled" and advanced HIV infection, battled COVID-19 for nine months, with the virus developing at least 21 mutations in her body.

This rare case of persistent SARS-CoV-2 beta variant infection has been mentioned in a study conducted by South African researchers. The patient, born with HIV, resides in Cape Town in South Africa. The study was carried out by scientists from Stellenbosch and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, reported News 24.

According to the report, the woman was admitted to a tertiary hospital in Cape Town in September 2021 after experiencing a sore throat, general discomfort, poor appetite, and difficulty swallowing. She told health workers at the time that she tested positive for COVID-19 way back in January.

Further tests were carried out on the woman which proved that her HIV viral load was high. She also tested positive for coronavirus and blood tests revealed she had been harboring COVID-19 in her system for nine months, though she experienced no respiratory difficulties.

The virus had also developed more than 20 mutations in her body because of her compromised immune system.

The woman was put on adherence counseling, and Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) was reinitiated. A month later, she was tested again for COVID-19, but her result was still positive.

The woman finally tested negative in November, two months after she was admitted to the hospital.

"Our experience reinforces previous reports that effective ART is the key to controlling such events. Once HIV replication is brought under control, and immune reconstitution commences, rapid clearance of SARS-CoV-2 is achieved, probably even before full immune reconstitution occurs," the researchers wrote.

According to the study, the coronavirus harbored by the patient developed at least 10 mutations on the spike protein, which allows it to bind with cells, and 11 other mutations.

Recently, another study published in the Frontiers in Medicine Journal in Brazil showed the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in an HIV-positive man for 232 days. However, the man had no HIV viral load as he had already undergone treatment.

According to medical experts, those with HIV have an increased risk of death from COVID-19 by between 78 and 95%. Among HIV-positive patients, those with diabetes, high blood pressure, and over 75 years old are at a greater risk.

South Africa reportedly has the highest HIV population in the world, with more than 7.6 million people living with the virus.