Revealed: Why COVID impacts all other organs of your body?

According to research, many variants of coronavirus can cause serious illness by binding to the surface of human cells through the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that damages many organs of the body. The study's findings, led by the University of Bristol, believe that a treatment might eradicate the 2002 SARS-CoV outbreak, the current SARS-CoV-2 variation Omicron, and potentially harmful future versions.

Omicron has undergone many mutations, making it immunological defence offered by vaccination or antibody therapies that lag behind this quickly developing virus. The researchers found that despite everything else possibly changing, the pocket, which is also in Omicron, remained essentially intact.

Dr Sanjith Saseedharan, Consultant & Head Critical Care, SL Raheja Hospital, Mahim-A Fortis Associate, says, “We have learned from the last couple of years that COVID-19 affects the endothelium and creates inflammation all over the body. It is clear that COVID-19 is not a specific organ problem, but a generalized systemic disorder.”

“Such inflammation causes a reduction in oxygen transfer across the lungs, leading to increased blood clotting in the body. This, in turn, affects other organs by reducing their blood supply, which can cause organ failure, cardiac issues, renal failure, and limb loss. Due to the protein spike that the Coronavirus contains, people are affected by the above conditions. Also, while these issues can happen to anyone, it is an established fact that the severity of illness is multiplied in patients who are elderly and have comorbidities,” adds Dr. Saseedharan.

Let's take the example of the commonest organ involved here i.e., the lung. The lung is responsible for oxygenation, and this oxygen is carried by the blood to various organs. Thus, poor oxygenation would lead to organs performing at a lower efficiency because of difficulty in breathing.

An increase in the incidence of undernutrition as patients are unable to eat due to the infection. The inability to consume proper nutrition damages the immunity and delays the body's recovery process further. This also leads to a drop in immunity and causes a secondary infection. Therefore, maintaining a healthy diet is mandatory.