The findings help explain why higher rates of hospitalisation and death may have been seen in India
Scientists have identified a specific gene that doubles the risk of respiratory failure from Covid-19 and may go some way to explaining why some ethnic groups are more susceptible to severe disease than others.
The findings help explain why higher rates of hospitalisation and death may have been seen in certain communities and on the Indian subcontinent. The authors cautioned that the gene cannot be used as a sole explanation as many other factors, such as socioeconomic conditions, play a role. Despite a significant effect from the virus to people with Afro-Caribbean ancestry, only 2% carry the higher-risk genotype.
This “shows that the way in which the lung responds to the infection is critical”, said James Davies, co-lead author and associate professor of genomics at Oxford, who worked in intensive care during the pandemic. “This is important because most treatments have focused on changing the way in which the immune system reacts to the virus.”
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