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An elderly Belgian woman who died in March from COVID-19 apparently contracted two different variants of the virus at the same time.
Reuters reports that the case of the elderly patient, who was not vaccinated, was discussed at the annual European Congress on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID).
The woman, who was 90 when she died, had contracted both the alpha and beta variants of the virus, which were first detected in the UK and South Africa respectively. Her doctors reportedly said she could have contracted the variants from two different people.
The woman was treated in a hospital near Aalst, Belgium, according to Belgian media.
Reuters notes that Belgium’s vaccination program was put on hold earlier this year due to delivery issues that affected much of the European Union.
The Guardian reports that two similar cases of simultaneous infection were reported in January in Brazil, although the results have not yet been published in a scientific journal.
Other patients have been confirmed to contract COVID-19 again after initially recovering from an initial infection, but this is believed to be the first confirmed case of a person contracting two different variants at the same time.
Last year, scientists confirmed that a 25-year-old Nevada man contracted COVID-19 twice, the second case being more serious.
Despite the rarity of a double infection, virologist Lawrence Young of the University of Warwick told The Guardian it was not surprising to hear about the Belgian woman’s case.
“This study highlights the need for more studies to determine whether infection with multiple variants of concern affects the clinical course of Covid-19 and whether this in any way compromises the effectiveness of the vaccination.” Young told point of sale.
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