Autopsies have again shown that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can replicate in multiple organs, locations and body fluids in the event of a severe version of the disease. Including the brain. But the lungs remain the only organs whose tissues are really affected.
The pandemic related to coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 started exactly three years ago. The understanding of how it works is progressing little by little. Recent autopsies, the results of which were published in December 2022 in Naturereveal more about the spread of the virus in the human body.
These autopsies show how the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus appears to have a tendency for cellular persistence in various parts of the body. A total of 44 autopsies were analyzed, during which scientists searched for and quantified the level of coronavirus messenger RNA in 85 locations and body fluids. If virus mRNA is detected, it means that the virus has replicated there during the patient’s lifetime — and quantification can measure the extent of this.
Of the 85 locations and fluids analyzed, the researchers spotted abundant coronavirus mRNA in 79 of them. As for the patient profile, this concerns unvaccinated elderly people who died of a severe version of Covid-19 disease.
“SARS-CoV-2 is widely distributed”
Autopsies show that the infection can become “systemic”, that is to say, spread to several organs. The virus then persists in the body for several months. This is not the first time that risks systemic infection are shown by autopsiesand this seems to be confirmed.
« We show that SARS-CoV-2 is widely distributed, primarily in patients who died with severe COVID-19, and that virus replication is present in multiple respiratory and non-respiratory tissues, including the brain, early in life. the infection “, explain the authors. In total, the mRNA of the virus has been identified in quantity in the lungs, the heart, the kidneys, the liver, certain muscles and nerves, the reproductive systems, the spleen, the eye or even the brain.
As a predominantly respiratory virus, however, it is not surprising that the lungs show the most damage and inflammation. The other parts of the body affected by the replication of the virus, such as the brain or the kidneys, are less or not at all affected by damage to their tissues, physically speaking.
This type of work offers additional keys to improving the follow-up of patients with severe forms of the disease. nothing butin Francein early January 2023, another 1,300 people are in critical care.