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Emergence of multiple SARS-CoV-2 mutations in an immunocompromised host

Khatamzas, E.; Rehn, A.; Muenchhoff, M.; Hellmuth, J.; Gaitzsch, E.; Weiglein, T.; Georgi, E.; Scherer, C.; Stecher, S.; Weigert, O.; Girl, P.; Zange, S.; Keppler, O. T.; Stemmler, J.; Bergwelt-Baildon, M.; Woelfel, R.; Antwerpen, M.

2021-01-15 infectious diseases
10.1101/2021.01.10.20248871 medRxiv
Show abstract

Prolonged shedding of infectious SARS-CoV-2 has recently been reported in a number of immunosuppressed individuals with COVID-19. Here, we describe the detection of high levels of replication-competent SARS-CoV-2 in specimens taken from the respiratory tract of a B-cell depleted patient up to 154 days after initial COVID-19 diagnosis concomitant with the development of high mutation rate. In this patient, a total of 11 nonsynonymous mutations were detected in addition to the Y144 deletion in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Virus evolution studies revealed a dramatic diversification in viral population coinciding with treatment with convalescent plasma and clinical respiratory deterioration. Our findings highlight the urgent need for continuous real-time surveillance of genetic changes of SARS-CoV-2 adaptation alongside immunological investigations in patients with severely compromised humoral responses who may shed infectious virus over prolonged periods of time.

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