Severe COVID-19 symptoms could be linked to inherited Neanderthal genes, according to researchers in Europe.
Looking to understand the drastic difference of severity in symptoms between those infected, researchers Hugo Zeberg and Svante Paabo began studying the genes of COVID patients experiencing respiratory failure, according to the international journal Nature.
Accredited Social Health Activist workers sit while registering the names of residents coming for Covid-19 coronavirus tests at a temporary collection center in Hyderabad on September 30, 2020. (Photo by NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)
Zeberg and Paabo identified a gene cluster, a haplotype, that most likely originated from Neanderthals. They found half the people in South Asia have this haplotype, while 16% of the European population and almost none of the population in Africa and East Asia possess it. (RELATED: Humans’ Link To Neanderthals May Be Closer Than Ever, Study Says)
In Bangladesh, 63% of the population has this Neanderthal haplotype, according to the study.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses the nation during a remote press conference at Downing Street on September 30, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Hill – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
People who originated from Bangladesh are two times more likely to die from COVID-19 in the UK, according to a study from Public Health England. (RELATED: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Orders New Restrictions As COVID-19 Cases Surge)
Diabetes, weakened immune systems, severe obesity and older age are some of the risk factors associated with COVID. People ages 85 and older are most at risk for developing serious symptoms. (RELATED: Firefighter’s Union Sues New Jersey Over Handling Of COVID-19)
Svante Paabo receives the Princess of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research 2018 from King Felipe VI of Spain on October 19, 2018 in Oviedo, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)
Paabo, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, said the inherited haplotype’s impact on COVID-19 must be researched quickly, according to the AP.
“It is striking that the genetic heritage from the Neanderthals has such tragic consequences during the current pandemic,” Paabo said in a statement.
The Director of the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology at the University of Kiel, Germany, Andre Franke, said this study does not change COVID-19 treatment, according to the AP.