Autopsies show Covid virus lingers in brain, other body parts for months: Study
Washington (PTI): The SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads throughout the body, including the brain, and lingers for almost eight months, shows an analysis of tissue samples from the autopsies of people who died due to COVID-19.
The researchers from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) tested samples from autopsies that were performed from April 2020 to March 2021. They conducted extensive sampling of the nervous system, including the brain, in 11 of the patients. All of the patients died with COVID-19, and none were vaccinated.
The blood plasma of 38 patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, three tested negative, and plasma was unavailable for the other three.
Thirty per cent of the patients were female, and the median age was 62.5 years. Twenty-seven patients (61.4 per cent) had three or more comorbidities.
The median interval from symptom onset to death was 18.5 days.
The study, published in the journal Nature, showed that SARS-CoV-2 primarily infected and damaged airway and lung tissue.
However, the researchers also found viral RNA in 84 distinct body locations and bodily fluids, and in one case they isolated viral RNA 230 days after a patient's symptoms began.
They detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA and protein in the hypothalamus and cerebellum of one patient and in the spinal cord and basal ganglia of two other patients.
However, the study found little damage to brain tissue, "despite substantial viral burden."
The researchers also isolated viable SARS-CoV-2 virus from diverse tissues in and outside the respiratory tract, including the brain, heart, lymph nodes, gastrointestinal tract, adrenal gland, and eye.
They isolated virus from 25 of 55 specimens tested (45 per cent).
"We demonstrated virus replication in multiple non-respiratory sites during the first two weeks following symptom onset," the authors of the study noted.
Prior to this study, "the thinking in the field was that SARS-CoV-2 was predominantly a respiratory virus," senior study author Daniel Chertow from NIH added.
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Rain wreaks havoc in Bengaluru, kills 10
Bengaluru (PTI):The rains in Bengaluru on Wednesday evening wreaked havoc, killing 10 people, authorities said.
Heavy rains coupled with a hailstorm and gusty winds uprooted trees, flooded many key stretches and threw traffic out of gear, they said on Thursday.
Large parts of the city witnessed sudden, intense rainfall for nearly an hour, bringing down trees and electric poles, crushing parked vehicles and inundating low-lying areas, while several roads were rendered impassable, severely disrupting vehicular movement during peak hours.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed when a compound wall of the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital collapsed amid the downpour.
Among the deceased, two were from Kerala who were on a study tour. They had taken shelter near the wall when it gave way, they said.
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In another incident, a 35-year-old man, identified as Raghu, died of electrocution on Bannerghatta Road near Vega City Mall.
In a separate case in Yarab Nagar, a student, Syed Sufiyan died after coming into contact with a live electric wire while attempting to park his motorcycle during the rain, police said.
One more fatality was reported from Chamarajapet, where Manjunath died on the spot after a cement block fell and pierced through the roof of a house during the storm.
The sudden spell of rain left a trail of destruction across the city.
“So far, 10 people have died due to rain-related incidents in Bengaluru,” police said, attributing the deaths to wall collapse, electrocution and structural damage triggered by the storm.
Civic authorities said at least 87 trees were uprooted and 131 branches snapped across the city, disrupting daily life.
Of these, 60 trees and 98 branches had been cleared, while restoration work was ongoing.
Several cars and two-wheelers parked along roadsides were crushed under fallen trees.
Key junctions and underpasses were waterlogged, with the KR Circle underpass completely submerged, forcing police to barricade the stretch due to lack of drainage.
Fallen branches and stalled vehicles further worsened traffic congestion, leaving commuters stranded for hours.
Officials said buildings suffered partial damage in several areas, while the sudden and unanticipated nature of the storm caught many residents off guard. Authorities have issued a rain alert for the next three days.
