Severe COVID-19 infections may be influenced by genes inherited from our distant relatives, the Neanderthals. A groundbreaking study conducted in the northern Italian city of Bergamo, which was an early epicenter with one of the highest COVID-19 death rates, reveals a strong connection between a set of DNA variants or a haplotype inherited from Neanderthals and the development of severe respiratory illness. Examining a sample of almost 10,000 residents, researchers found that individuals with the haplotype were twice as likely to experience severe pneumonia from COVID-19 and three times as likely to be hospitalized in intensive-care units and placed on ventilators compared to those without the haplotype. The Wall Street Journal reports these findings.
Europeans and Asians have inherited approximately 2% of their genomes from Neanderthals through interbreeding with modern humans. A study conducted in 2020 initially linked a genomic segment inherited from Neanderthals to severe COVID-19, with approximately 16% of Europeans and 50% of South Asians carrying this genetic segment. According to Giuseppe Remuzzi, the director of Milan’s Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research and the lead author of a study published in iScience, around 33% of Bergamo residents who developed life-threatening forms of COVID-19 possessed the Neanderthal haplotype, while it was less prevalent in individuals who experienced milder symptoms or were asymptomatic. The study highlights that this specific haplotype is considered to be the primary genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 cases.
Variants of Neanderthal genes have been linked to an increased vulnerability to various diseases in modern humans, including alcoholism and obesity, as reported by IFL Science. Furthermore, a study published in March highlighted the association of Neanderthal genes with a higher risk of immune dysregulation disorders in response to COVID-19, according to Insider. However, genetics alone cannot fully explain the impact of COVID-19 on Bergamo. The percentage of residents who carry the haplotype remains unknown. Nevertheless, the study suggests a possible explanation for the lower severity of COVID-19 cases in Africa. The Neanderthal haplotype is “almost completely absent” on the continent, which has a younger population compared to Italy, known for having one of the oldest populations in the world. (Read more COVID-19 stories.)
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