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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.07.03.186296

The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neandertals

Zeberg, H.·Paabo, S.
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Abstract

A recent genetic association study (Ellinghaus et al. 2020) identified a gene cluster on chromosome 3 as a risk locus for respiratory failure in SARS-CoV-2. Recent data comprising 3,199 hospitalized COVID-19 patients and controls reproduce this and find that it is the major genetic risk factor for severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization (COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative). Here, we show that the risk is conferred by a genomic segment of ~50 kb that is inherited from Neandertals and occurs at a frequency of ~30% in south Asia and ~8% in Europe.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.View Full Text

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Zeberg, H., Paabo, S.. 2020-07-03. The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neandertals. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.03.186296

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