Studies suggest coronavirus can infect intestines, kidneys and other organs

vel coronavirus can infect multiple organs throughout body including lungs, pharynx, heart, liver, brain, kidneys, and intestines, researchers said in different reports. While SARS-CoV-2 has been classified as a respiratory virus, detection of viral RNA in faecal specimens suggest that it might cause enteric infection.

According to a report published in Nature Medicine, some COVID-19 patients have suffered gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Jie Zhou and colleagues at University of Hong Kong demonstrated active replication of SARS-CoV-2 in human intestinal orgaids and isolation of infectious virus from stool specimen of a patient with diarrheal COVID-19.

“Although t as common as respiratory symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms have been present in a substantial proportion of patients with COVID-19,” wrote researchers.

researchers wrote about a 68-year-old female patient who h a fever, sore throat and productive cough, and later developed diarrhoea after mission to Princess Margaret Hospital. Zhou and colleagues said that y isolated infectious virus from her stool specimen.

“ isolation of infectious virus from patient’s stool suggests that SARS-CoV-2 enteric infection occurred,” re report.

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'Poorly defined'

A separate report, published in New England Journal of Medicine, highlighted that virus preferentially infects cells in respiratory tract but its direct affinity for organs or than lungs remains poorly defined. researchers quantified viral lo in autopsy tissue samples obtained from 22 patients died from COVID-19.

As per report, 17 patients out of 22 demonstrated more than two coexisting conditions and SARS-CoV-2 seemed to affect kidneys more than any or n-respiratory organs, even in patients without a history of chronic kidney disease.

“ highest levels of SARS-CoV-2 copies per cell were detected in respiratory tract, and lower levels were detected kidneys, liver, heart, brain, and blood,” wrote researchers, highlighting impact of dely virus on several or organs. 

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(Im credit: AP)