Doctors in the United States have documented what is believed to be the longest-known case of COVID-19, lasting an extraordinary 776 days before the patient’s death. The clinical case is described in the article Microbe published in the scientific journal The Lancet.

It is about a 41-year-old man suffering from HIV who did not receive antiretroviral therapy. Due to the weakening of his immune system, the coronavirus remained in his body for a long time, constantly adapting. The first symptoms—cough, headache, and fatigue—appeared in May 2020, but the diagnosis of COVID-19 was confirmed in September of the same year, after hospitalization.

The coronavirus in this man’s body underwent numerous mutations over many months, including changes that were later found in major variants, such as omicron. Moreover, the unique mix of strains that emerged inside the patient did not leave his body, probably due to their narrow adaptation to a specific immune environment.

The man’s PCR tests remained positive until his death; two days before his death, the coronavirus was still detected in samples. However, according to doctors, the cause of his death was not directly related to COVID-19.

Some other cases of extremely prolonged infection in patients with weakened immunity have also been reported earlier. For example, in 2024, a case of coronavirus lasting 613 days was reported in the Netherlands, and in 2022, a case lasting 505 days—in the UK.

Experts note that such rare infections pose a potential threat, as they can contribute to the emergence of new, strongly mutated strains. Therefore, despite the end of the coronavirus epidemic, scientists call for continued global monitoring of this disease.