SARS-CoV-2 intra-host evolution during prolonged infection in an immunocompromised patient

Objectives: Intra-host SARS-CoV-2 evolution during chronic infection in immunocompromised hosts has been suggested as being the possible trigger of the emergence of new variants.

Methods: Using a deep sequencing approach, we investigated the SARS-CoV-2 intra-host genetic evolution in a patient with HIV over a period of 109 days.

Results: Sequencing of nasopharyngeal swabs at three time points demonstrated dynamic changes in the viral population, with the emergence of 26 amino acid mutations and two deletions, 57% of them in the Spike protein. Such a combination of mutations has never been observed in other SARS-CoV-2 lineages detected so far.

Conclusion: Our data confirm that persistent infection in certain immunocompromised individuals for a long time may favor the dangerous emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants with immune evasion properties.