New Study Coauthored by Melamed Finds COVID-19 Can Reactive Other Viruses

Many chronic viruses are known to reactivate during times of stress or illness, such as the Epstein–Barr virus and cytomegalovirus, a common herpes virus. A study published today in Nature led by Dell Medical School investigators in collaboration with the NIH-funded Immunophenotyping Assessment in a COVID-19 Cohort (IMPACC) consortium found that COVID-19 can reactivate some of these viruses.

Using longitudinal data from more than 1,100 hospitalized patients with COVID-19—many otherwise healthy individuals—the authors found that several chronic viruses, particularly those of the Herpesviridae and Anelloviridae families of viruses, were reactivated during acute COVID-19 in almost half of the patients. They also concluded that viral reactivation may contribute to both COVID severity and long COVID. Furthermore, the researchers were the first to define when the chronic viruses were reactivated and for what length of time.

“Our findings have important implications for patient care,” said Esther Melamed, MD, Ph.D., the study’s principal investigator and assistant professor of neurology at Dell Medical School. “Tests already exist for several of the chronic viruses studied, and some viruses in the herpes family can be treated with existing antiviral drugs. The next step is determining whether identifying and treating reactivated viruses can improve outcomes for patients with acute COVID-19 and long COVID.”

Read more about the study.