- & Liver and kidneys – When your liver cells are inflamed or damaged, they leak higher amounts of enzymes into the bloodstream. Although liver enzymes aren’t necessarily a serious problem, this laboratory finding is common also in people with SARS or MERS. In one study conducted in Wuhan on Covid-19 patients, 27 % of them had kidney failure. Even so, the uncertainty is about whether the virus or the drugs used to treat the person are causing liver damage. Some people hospitalized with Covid-19 and acute kidney damage required a kidney transplant. Even more, during the SARS outbreak, scientists and doctors have discovered the virus that caused this illness in the tubules of the kidneys. But then, again, there’s little evidence to show that it’s strictly the virus’s fault.
- And the immune system – Like with any other infection, the body’s immune system response is to attack the foreign virus or bacteria. And while the immune response more than often is extremely efficient in getting rid of the infection, it can also cause collateral damage in the body. It can come in the form of an intense inflammatory response, called a “cytokine storm“. The immune cells are producing cytokines to fight infection, but if there are too many released in the body, it can cause many problems. A lot of the damage in the body is due to what we call a sepsis reaction. The infection generates an intense inflammatory response in the body, that affects multiple organ systems at once. Another interesting aspect about immune systems is that if children are infected with the virus, they only have a mild form. In fact, it’s so mild, that most of the time no one notices it. Doctors believe this may be due to the fact that children have a straightforward immune response when older people can sometimes have an “over-response”.
