Chronic Virus Reactivation Linked to Severity and Long COVID in COVID-19 Patients
A large, longitudinal study of 1,154 hospitalized COVID-19 patients using multi-omic analyses found significant reactivation of chronic viruses, especially Herpesviridae (EBV, CMV, HSV) and Anelloviridae, during acute illness with distinct timing for different viruses. Reactivation correlated with greater disease severity and adverse outcomes and persisted into convalescence, with Anelloviridae associated with long COVID. Although causality isn’t established, the results show frequent viral reactivation in immunocompetent patients during severe illness and reveal immune, transcriptomic, and metabolic changes linked to reactivation, offering potential prognostic and therapeutic insights for acute COVID-19 and long COVID.