(WHDH) — A major genetic risk factor for severe cases of COVID-19 is inherited from the Neanderthals, a new study has found.
Researchers have identified a gene cluster on chromosome 3 as a risk locus for respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients, according to findings published by bioRxiv.
The risk variant is believed to have entered the human population by gene flow from the Neanderthals or Denisovans about 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, researchers said.
Research shows that the variant occurs in South Asia at a frequency of 30 percent, in Europe at eight percent, among admixed Americans at four percent, and at lower frequencies in East Asia.
“The Neanderthal variant may thus be a substantial contributor to COVID-19 risk in certain populations,” researchers wrote in their findings.
The highest frequency is said to occur in Bangladesh, where 63 percent of the population carries at least one copy of the Neanderthal risk variant.
The Neanderthal-derived risk is said to be “almost completely absent” in Africa.
“In the current pandemic, it is clear that gene flow from Neanderthals has tragic consequences,” researchers concluded.
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