LOS ANGELES, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Interferon treatment may reduce the severity of COVID-19 in people with certain genetic factors, according to a new study published on Thursday.
Researchers from the U.S. National Institutes of Health and their collaborators have discovered that people of European and African ancestries who were hospitalized for COVID-19 are more likely to carry a particular combination of genetic variants in a gene known as OAS1 than patients with mild disease, according to the study published in Nature Genetics.
People with this combination of genetic variants also remain positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection longer, said the study.
However, interferon treatment may reduce the severity of COVID-19 in people with these genetic factors, according to the study.
Interferons are a type of protein that can help the body's immune system fight infection and other diseases, such as cancer. ■