Scientists from the United States have found out what is the main cause of death from severe forms of coronavirus infection. According to the results of their research, most often the death of a patient in such cases is caused by a large number of viral particles in the lungs and a weak immune response to infection.
Scientists examined lung tissue samples from 589 men and women hospitalized with severe COVID-19 at two Langone Health clinics and undergoing bronchoscopy to clear their lungs. It turned out that the viral load in the lower respiratory tract in those who died from coronavirus was, on average, ten times higher than in recovered severe patients. The research results were published in the journal Nature Microbiology.
This refuted the theory that secondary bacterial infection was the cause of death of the patients. But it was found that the adaptive immune system sometimes cannot effectively fight the coronavirus. If scientists find a solution to this problem, they will be able to find an effective treatment that will strengthen the body's own defenses. In the meantime, scientists can recommend focusing not on antibiotics, which fight secondary bacterial infections, but on antiviral drugs when treating COVID-19.
As the website kp.ru previously wrote, a new vaccine is being prepared at the Chumakov Center, the target of which will be the “delta” line of the coronavirus. General Director of the Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immunobiological Preparations named after M.P. Chumakov Russian Academy of Sciences Aydar Ishmukhametov told how the work is going.
