Large-Scale Genetic Screening Could Identify Populations Vulnerable To COVID-19

French researchers have proposed large-scale genetic screening to identify populations vulnerable to COVID-19, according to a Reuters report.

In their hypothesis, the researchers have described two opposing enzyme processes that take place when the coronavirus enters the human body. One process contributes to the infection by helping the virus break into cells, while the other - an opposite process - protects the body by keeping the virus away from its target cells.

According to the researchers, genetic differences among individuals affect the severity of the infection and the strength of the protection mechanisms, with some people having genes that predispose them to infection while others have genes that strengthen the body's protective process. If a genetic risk score were developed based on the information in the genetic databases analyzed by the researchers, then the populations at risk for severe COVID-19 "could be characterized by specific genetic profiles," study co-author Gerard Milano of Antoine Lacassagne Cancer Center (Nice, France) told Reuters.

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Antoine Lacassagne Cancer Center