Scientists found traces of the coronavirus in the gut of an 11-year-old girl, three months after she appeared to have recovered from COVID-19.
The girl had been experiencing severe abdominal pain, described as “cramping or burning”, since catching an “acute” case of COVID-19. This got better after she went to the bathroom or ate. The pain was intense, ranging from 5 to 7 out of 10, per a study conducted.
It is not clear when the child got the infection, whether she had been vaccinated against COVID-19, or which variant she might have caught.
Given this is only one case report, it is impossible to know whether the situation is an anomaly or could be happening more widely. The technique used in the study also does not show whether the virus is alive or dead.
