Discovery from the dead: Covid-19 leads to clotting

This is a story of 38 brains, 87 lungs and 42 hearts dissected in the Coronavirus autopsies in the New York University that brought out the truth from the dead and researchers say it could help the living.

Pathologist Amy Rapkiewicz, who opened up the coronavirus dead, found that the coronavirus caused dangerous clotting in its victims, at a much more damaging scale than what dengue does to human cells — uncontrolled bleeding.

With a vaccine probably many months away in even the most optimistic scenarios, autopsies are becoming a critical source of information for research into possible treatments.

Among the most important findings, consistent across several studies, is confirmation the virus appears to attack the lungs the most ferociously. They also found the pathogen in parts of the brain, kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract and spleen and in the endothelial cells that line blood vessels, as some had previously suspected. Researchers also found widespread clotting in many organs.

Most recently, a study out last month in the Lancet's eClinicalMedicine, found abnormal clotting in the heart, kidney and liver, as well as the lungs of seven patients, leading the authors to suggest this may be a major cause of the multiple-organ failure in covid-19 patients.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday held a meeting with the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi to discuss the COVID19 situation in the national capital and its adjoining areas, located in the two neighbouring states.

Shah reviewed the COVID19 situation in Delhi-NCR with the three chief ministers, a home ministry official said. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was also present in the meeting.