Young people can become seriously ill with corona if they have a rare immunodeficiency disease

A new study at the University of Bergen shows that people who die or become seriously ill from COVID-19 may have a rare immune deficiency disease or defect.

According to newspaper VG, the researchers believe they have come one step closer to an explanation for why some young people – and others without known risk factors – become seriously ill from the coronavirus.

Some people may have a rare immune deficiency disease without knowing it, according to the study.

“The findings are very interesting. They can have clinical significance,” Professor Eystein Husebye, one of the researchers behind the study, noted.

Immune response

Researchers have studied antibodies in the blood that inhibit the immune system’s ability to stop a virus from multiplying. 

It turns out that 10% of those who have become seriously ill from the coronavirus have antibodies that inhibit so-called interferons, one of the body’s important components for stopping a viral infection.

The study was conducted in collaboration with a large international team led by French researchers and had been taking place since last winter. 

It is based on data from corona patients from several countries.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today