4 Topic Commentaries

COVID-19 May Reactivate Dormant Viruses

COVID-19 May Reactivate Dormant Viruses

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  Cole Maguire, Medical Student (MS2); completed PhD research

  Neuroscience

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  Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin

  This finding suggests that COVID-19 may not always act as a single viral infection and may disrupt the body’s internal ecosystem of dormant viruses, creating a state of ‘dysvirosis,’

  Source
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  Esther Melamed, MD, PhD

  Neurology (Neuroimmunology)

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  Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin

  The next step is determining whether identifying and treating reactivated viruses can improve outcomes for patients with acute COVID-19 and long COVID.

  Source
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  Kristen Pogreba-Brown, PhD, MPH

  Epidemiology

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  The University of Arizona Health Sciences

  One of several theories about long COVID is that an acute infection leads to an activation of dormant viruses, such as the Epstein-Barr virus,

  Source
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  Michael Peluso, MD

  Infectious Diseases

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  University of California, San Francisco

  We’ve also been interested in the relationship between long COVID and prior Epstein-Barr infection, because people with reactivation of that infection appear twice as likely to report having long COVID.

  Source