‘Covid-19 patient’s immune response largely responsible for death, not virus’: Study

The study was conducted by the experts at the University of Edinburgh, UK, wherein little correlation was found between levels of the virus and inflammation.

A latest study conducted on 11 Covid-19 patients, who succumbed to the virus, reveals a link between coronavirus and patients’ immune response to the disease. The study, an excerpt of which was published in science journal, ‘Nature’, suggests that immune responses, rather than the virus itself, are largely responsible for death in Covid-19 patients.

A child is tested by a healthcare worker for the coronavirus at testing center for migrants in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP)

“Numerous studies have suggested that the immune system contributes to the organ damage seen in some severe cases of Covid-19,” the paper read.

The study was conducted by the experts at the University of Edinburgh, UK, wherein little correlation was found between levels of the virus and inflammation.

The study was carried out by conducting detailed autopsies to map signs of Covid-19 in the body, along with sites of inflammation and injury.

Experts and scientists are racing to arrive at the first potential vaccine against coronavirus. Potential treatments and over 200 vaccine contenders are already in the works with the first vaccine likely to be proved effective by the end of the year, experts believe.

After over 6 months since its breakout in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year, the virus has spread across continents, killing over 5 lakh people and infecting more than 11 million across the globe.

India struggles with a rapid rise in coronavirus cases with the national tally crossing over 7 lakh patients.