Scientists are trying to track down an Ohio resident who they believe could be the longest-living Covid patient of all time, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The patient, believed to live in the Columbus area, is carrying a severely mutated version of the virus that experts have seen is “nothing else.”
The virus was detected through sewage samples and traced back to early 2021. It is repeatedly picked up in an area 40 miles away, indicating that a person is carrying it and expelling it through their feces.
Dr. Marc Johnson, a microbiologist at the University of Missouri, warned that the strain’s mutations would be severe enough to make it a “variant of concern” if it circulated among the population.
The human Covid strain evolved significantly differently from existing strains such as the Omicron and Delta variants known to the public. Pictured: A viral ‘surge’ showing how different versions of Covid have evolved. Grouped in the center (blue arrow) are known variants distributed around the world. Within these strains there are thousands, if not millions, of mutations that distinguish them from others. However, the strain of the unknown Ohio individual (red line) mutated completely separately. The viral composition is very different from other versions of the virus, and the evolutionary chain is linear – without thousands of branches. This indicates that the strain circulates in only one individual.
A person in Ohio has been infected with Covid for more than two years. Researchers found they frequently commute from the small town of Washington Court House, about 40 miles northeast of Columbus, Ohio. You probably live in Washington and work or go to school in Columbus
Dr. Johnson believes the tension is caused by the same person who regularly commutes between Columbus and the Washington Court House.
The scientist is not sure if the person is contagious or how they managed to stay infected for so long.
Patients who carry the virus for an unusually long time often have a compromised immune system, which means their body has trouble clearing the virus. Many scientists believe that the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants all originated this way.
However, DR Johnson is confident that the patient is healthy and able to travel to work or school, but cannot rule out a chronically ill individual commuting for hospital care. Even his team couldn’t say for sure it was a patient.
The Missouri team analyzed Covid samples from sewage across the US in search of “cryptic” strains of Covid – new variants of the virus that have emerged with unknown origins.
The technique was used as a tool during the pandemic. Because the virus appears in the stool before anyone develops symptoms, sewage data can help identify days in advance where outbreaks would occur.
“We turn back [wastewater] to see if there is something in it that is not consistent with any parenting,” said dr. Johnson to DailyMail.com.
“It was very early [sample] it was unlike anything we had seen,” he continued.
Late last year, his team began scanning wastewater data from Ohio.
The Arcturus Covid variant continues to spread in the United States
DailyMail.com understands that some patients infected with the XBB.1.16 strain have died.
He found the virus in Columbus, the state’s largest city with a population of nearly 1 million, and in Washington Court House, a small southwestern town of just 15,000 people.
As far as he knows, the same line has not been found anywhere else. This particular pattern probably means that the person lives in the Washington Court House and commutes to Columbus.
It could be for work, but the patient could also be a college student, as Columbus is home to Ohio State University, which has more than 66,000 students.
It is unclear how the person carried the virus for so long, but it is likely that the virus mutated in him to cause minor complications.
The longest confirmed Covid case was recorded by British doctors in April last year when they confirmed that a patient had been infected for 505 days – almost a year and a half.
Overall, there are probably only a few thousand people who meet these guidelines, a relatively small group to look for.
This strain mutated into this individual over time. It has mutated so badly that it probably has characteristics very different from any existing species – meaning it poses a threat if it spreads.
“If it was in circulation, it would immediately be declared a variant of concern,” Dr. Johnson.
However, the virus has probably mutated in this person in such a way that it is not fit to spread.
Instead, the virus has managed to adapt to living in its host for long periods of time while remaining relatively undetected.
This is probably a version of the Alpha or Wuhan clan that has undergone significant mutations in their bodies.
The virus has managed to hide in the person’s body to multiply indefinitely without the immune system attacking it.
This can happen when the virus reaches “immune-privileged sites” in the body that the immune system is unlikely to attack. This can include the eyes, brain and fertility organs such as the testicles.
Although unlikely, it may be possible for the virus to acquire some mutations necessary to spread in the population.
The patient is also likely to be asymptomatic or have symptoms similar to those of an intestinal disease such as Crohn’s disease – with cramps and diarrhea.
“They probably don’t know they’ve been affected,” he continued.
Dr. Johnson hopes to find this patient to get medical help and collect samples that will allow him to learn more about the cryptic strain.
His team has in the past had the ability to track down containers of cryptic Covid lines.
answer now
In the spring of 2022, Dr. Johnson in Wisconsin a cryptic suitcase. The affected person lost their viral load at an excessive rate.
His team tested water in wells in the area and was able to determine where the load came from.
At the end of the summer of 2022, they connected the species to a toilet in a certain building where many people worked who came to work every day. One of those employees carries the cryptic strain, says dr. Johnson.
The company agreed to dr. Johnson to collect stool samples from some employees to determine who carries the strain.
The typical case of Covid only lasts a few days – and the maximum time someone has to be sick is two weeks.
However, many people have experienced long-lasting symptoms after contracting Covid – some have been diagnosed with the mysterious condition ‘lung Covid’.
Dr. Johnson is concerned that in some of these cases, a person will continue to experience these symptoms because they really just have an ongoing infection.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
