It is common understanding in the science world that your genetic information can influence infectious disease. Single base changes in your DNA can influence your likelihood of contracting the disease or the severity of your symptoms. These changes have been studied in diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, malaria, tuberculosis and dengue.
One of the most well studied changes, a deletion of 32 base pairs in a gene called CCR5, is associated with resistance to HIV. The CCR5 gene is involved in the entry of HIV into host cells and when the 32 base pair deletion is present in both copies of the gene, the individual is very unlikely to be infected with HIV, even when coming into contact with it.
So what about coronavirus? Whilst old age and underlying conditions are known, and easily explained, risk factors for coronavirus there are some trends that are currently not possible to explain. Males are more likely to die from the virus than their female counterparts. Some children have developed an inflammatory condition with a fever and skin rash that has been linked to coronavirus exposure and could be potentially life threatening.
It is hoped that the answers to these currently unexplainable risk factors and outcomes will be in our genes. Edinburgh University have teamed up with a number of hospitals, the government and Genomics England to look into the genetics of those that have been admitted to intensive care with the virus. David Bentley from Ilumina, the company involved in sequencing the genome of the virus in the study, has confirmed that the way the virus enters the host cells could be changed by our genes, similar to the changes in HIV entry described above.
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Challenger Deep 