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The case, discussed at this year’s European Congress on Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), shows that it is possible to catch two COVID-19 variants simultaneously, the society that organized the congress said in a statement.
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The society said the woman became sick with Alpha and Beta types first identified in Britain and South Africa and her doctors said she could have contracted the infections from two different people.
The woman, who was treated at a hospital in Aalst near Brussels, had not been vaccinated, Belgium’s Dutch-language public broadcaster VRT said. Belgium, like much of the European Union, faced vaccine delivery problems early in 2021 and its vaccination program started slowly, although the EU has now delivered vaccines to cover 70% of the population.
SOPHIA ANKEL, BUSINESS INSIDER
12 JULY 2021
Her case, which was discussed at this year s European Congress on Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) as part of Belgian research, is believed to be the first of its kind.
The woman, who reportedly was not vaccinated, got sick in March and was treated at a hospital close to Brussels, according to Belgian broadcaster VRT.
It is not clear how she became infected, but her doctors said she could have contracted the infections from two different people, Reuters reported.
While her oxygen levels were initially stable, her condition deteriorated very quickly, and she died five days later.
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It is not clear how she became infected, but her doctors said she could have contracted the infections from two different people, Reuters reported.
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Molecular biologist Anne Vankeerberghen said that it was difficult to tell whether the co-infection played a role in the fast deterioration of the patient. Both these variants were circulating in
Belgium at the time, so the lady was likely co-infected with different viruses from two different people, she said, according to the Guardian.
Vankeerberghen works for the OLV hospital in Belgium, which is leading the research. Their findings have not yet been submitted to a medical journal for publication.
Updated: 15:01, 11 Jul 2021
A PENSIONER who died after contracting Covid-19 had been infected with two strains of the virus at the same time, researchers in Belgium have revealed.
The 90-year-old woman had contracted both the UK and South African variants at the same time and is believed to be the first documented case of its kind.
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She was treated at the OLV Hospital in Belgium before her death
She had not been given a vaccine and was admitted to the OLV Hospital in the Belgian city of Alast after a series of falls in March.
The woman, who lived alone and received at home care, tested positive for coronavirus on the same day as her admission to hospital.
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An unpublished COVID-19 case recently showed a 90-year-old unvaccinated woman, after contracting the virus this spring in Europe, was found to have been infected with two variants simultaneously.
FOX10 reported the patient s case was presented and discussed at the European Congress on Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases or ECCMID as part of a Belgian study.
The woman reported at the hospital after a series of falls and tested positive for COVID-19 too, the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
When the patient was admitted to the hospital, she had a good health condition and did not exhibit any signs of respiratory distress. Nonetheless, her health started to drop fast, and she died five days after.