Coronavirus might ‘hide’ in patients’ brains, study suggests

Name: First 3D scan of the real coronavirus revealed
Uploaded: 2021-01-27T15:15:14.000Z
Duration: 1 min 1 s
Description: First 3D scan of the real coronavirus revealed

Mice infected with Covid-19 that developed severe illness were found to have virus levels 1,000 times higher in their brains than in other organs

This could shed light on why people who appear to be getting well suddenly relapse and have a sharp decline, researchers say

Reading Time:2 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Researchers measured the levels of Sars-CoV-2 in the brains of infected mice. They found virus levels 1,000 times higher there than in other organs. Photo: Getty Images

Tribune News Service

Published: 11:15pm, 27 Jan 2021Updated: 12:02am, 28 Jan 2021

The novel coronavirus doesn’t just attack the brain, new research shows. It may take up residence and “hide” there. And, like Jason in the unending stream of Friday the 13th movies, it could come back.

Researchers at Georgia State University in the US measured the levels of Sars-CoV-2 – the pathogen that causes Covid-19 – in the brains of mice that had been infected through their nasal passages and had developed severe illness.

They found virus levels 1,000 times higher there than in other organs, they said in a study published in the journal Viruses.

The team is now puzzling out the implications of the new findings, which showed the elevated brain levels of coronavirus five to six days after initial infection, correlating to the onset of symptoms such as difficulty breathing, disorientation and weakness. In contrast, the virus began declining in the animals’ lungs around day three, the researchers said.

01:01

First 3D scan of the real coronavirus revealed

While the virus’s attacks and effects on the brain and nervous system have been documented, the researchers surmised that the high levels of the virus in the brain could potentially explain persistent neurological symptoms in some so-called long-haulers – people who remain sick long after the virus is supposedly gone.

Not all Covid-19 infections make it to the brain. But among the ones that do, it might stay there.