Coronavirus: Belgian woman dies after being infected with two variants at once

The unvaccinated 90-year-old was infected with both the Alpha and Beta variants at the same time, researchers said

There have been ‘no other published cases’ of similar co-infections, they said – while warning the ‘phenomenon is probably underestimated’

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A colourised image taken by a transmission electron microscope shows Sars-CoV-2, the virus also known as 2019-nCoV that causes Covid-19. Photo: National Institute of Allergy and Diseases Handout via AFP

Published: 3:30pm, 11 Jul 2021Updated: 3:30pm, 11 Jul 2021

A 90-year-old woman who died after catching Covid-19 was infected with both the Alpha and Beta variants of the coronavirus at the same time, researchers in Belgium said on Sunday, adding that the rare phenomenon may be underestimated.

The unvaccinated woman, who lived alone and received at-home nursing care, was admitted to the OLV Hospital in the Belgian city of Aalst after a spate of falls in March and tested positive for Covid-19 the same day.

While her oxygen levels were initially good, her condition deteriorated rapidly and she died five days later.

A man receives a Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Brussels last month. The Belgian woman infected with two virus variants at once had not been vaccinated. Photo: AFP

When medical staff tested for the presence of any variants of concern they found that she was carrying both the Alpha strain, which originated in Britain, and the Beta variant first detected in South Africa.

“Both these variants were circulating in Belgium at the time, so it is likely that the lady was co-infected with different viruses from two different people,” said molecular biologist Anne Vankeerberghen from the OLV Hospital who led the research. “Unfortunately, we don’t know how she became infected.”

Vankeerberghen said it was difficult to say whether the co-infection played a role in the fast deterioration of the patient.