British man tests positive for Covid-19 for 10 straight months

This article is more than 12 months old

Jun 25, 2021 06:00 am

LONDON : A British man, 72, tested positive for coronavirus for 10 months, in what is thought to be the longest recorded case of continuous infection, researchers said yesterday.

Retiree Dave Smith from Bristol in western England, said he tested positive 43 times, was hospitalised seven times and had made plans for his funeral.

"I had resigned myself. I had called the family in, made my peace with everybody, said goodbye," he told BBC.

Dr Ed Moran, a consultant in infectious diseases at the University of Bristol and North Bristol NHS Trust, said Mr Smith "had active virus in his body" throughout. "We were able to prove that by sending a sample of his virus to university partners who managed to grow it, proving that it was not just leftover products that were triggering a PCR ( polymerase chain reaction) test, but actually active, viable virus."

Mr Smith recovered after treatment with a cocktail of synthetic antibodies by US biotech company Regeneron. - AFP