COVID-19 may be able to wake up viruses that have been lying dormant in the body, according to a new study involving researchers from Boston Children's Hospital and other institutions. The findings were published in Nature and focused on hospitalized patients.
The study tracked 1,154 patients at 20 U.S. biomedical research hospitals and used genomic sequencing to look for signs that dormant viruses had become active again. Within the first 40 days after admission, researchers identified 11 reactivated viruses, including Epstein-Barr, herpes simplex 1, cytomegalovirus and viruses in the Anelloviridae family.
One result stood out: reactivation of Anelloviridae was strongly associated with long-term physical disability and long COVID, according to the researchers. Ofer Levy, MD, PhD, of Boston Children's said the finding could help scientists better understand the condition and eventually improve diagnosis and treatment.
The study also found that Epstein-Barr and cytomegalovirus appeared to reactivate in response to inflammation, rather than simply because the immune system was suppressed. Researchers say that challenges the idea that dormant viral reactivation happens mainly during immunosuppression and suggests inflammation during severe illness may play a key role.
Researchers say their next step is to study how the immune system responds to these reactivated viruses over the course of COVID-19 and to look for the best timing for possible interventions.
