June 12, 2020
Bulletin interne de l'Institut Pasteur
Study reveals conditions for the onset of severe forms of COVID-19
Using state-of-the-art sequencing and bioinformatics techniques, scientists from the Institut Pasteur, working with fellow scientists from Israel and China, determined that patients with severe forms of COVID-19 presented an abnormal, ineffective lymphocyte response and a massive infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lungs.
Patients with COVID-19 (see the COVID-19 fact sheet) present a wide variety of clinical forms, ranging from mild cases to respiratory distress syndromes requiring respiratory assistance. While various factors such as age, sex and weight have been identified as being associated with severe forms, little is yet known about the biological mechanisms involved in the aggravation of the disease.