Children and young adults with compromised immune systems, such as those undergoing cancer treatment, may experience a prolonged period of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, finds a study.

The extended duration of infection may also increase the incidence of mutations, said researchers at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), US.

While most people are infectious for about 10 days after first showing Covid symptoms, this is the first report of active prolonged symptoms and infection in a pediatric or young adult population, said lead author Jennifer Dien Bard, Director of the Clinical Microbiology and Virology Laboratory at CHLA.

SARS-CoV-2 mutates about once or twice a month, according to Bard. A long period of infection raises concerns about the development of viral mutations. When a virus replicates, it copies its genetic code, but sometimes the virus makes a mistake known as a mutation.

There is some evidence to suggest the B117 variant may have originated in a person who was immunocompromised and consistently infected with SARS-CoV-2. Yet even in immunocompromised patients, months-long infections are rare, Bard said.

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