COVID-19 in an immunocompromised host: persistent shedding of viable SARS-CoV-2 and emergence of multiple mutations: a case report

Wayne F Leung; Samuel Chorlton; John Tyson; Ghada N Al-Rawahi; Agatha N Jassem; Natalie Prystajecky; Shazia Masud; Gregory D Deans; Michael G Chapman; Yazdan Mirzanejad; Melanie C M Murray; Patrick H P Wong

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2021.10.045

COVID-19 in an immunocompromised host: persistent shedding of viable SARS-CoV-2 and emergence of multiple mutations: a case report

Int J Infect Dis. 2022 Jan:114:178-182. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.10.045. Epub 2021 Oct 29.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
² British Columbia Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
³ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁴ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; British Columbia Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁵ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
⁶ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

This article reports a case of a 21-year-old woman with refractory B-cell acute lymphocytic leukaemia who presented with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). She remained positive for SARS-CoV-2 by viral culture for 78 days and by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for 97 days. Sequencing of repeat samples over time demonstrated an increasing and dynamic repertoire of mutations.

Keywords: Case report; Immunocompromised; Mutation; SARS-CoV-2; Sequencing; Viral culture.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adult
COVID-19*
Female
Humans
Immunocompromised Host
Mutation
SARS-CoV-2*
Virus Shedding
Young Adult