A new study published in Nature has found that severe cases of COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses already present in patients’ bodies. Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and collaborating institutions analyzed genomic sequencing data from 1,154 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and detected 11 reactivated viruses within the first 40 days after admission. The most frequently detected included Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus 1, and Anelloviridae. Notably, reactivation of Anelloviridae — a family typically carried latently by about 90% of the population — was strongly associated with long-term physical disability and long COVID. Additionally, the analysis revealed that some viruses (like Epstein-Barr and cytomegalovirus) seemed to reactivate in response to inflammation rather than immune suppression, challenging the prevailing view that chronic viral reactivation primarily occurs due to immunosuppression.
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