Covid-19: Bristol man tested positive 43 times, recovers after 290 days

A man from Bristol, England has reportedly recovered from Covid-19 after testing positive 43 times.

Dave Smith has the longest recorded case of Covid-19 in the world. After he was diagnosed with leukaemia and got chemotherapy treatment, his immune system was vulnerable to the virus.

The 72-year-old suffered from Covid-19 for 290 days, according to a BBC report.

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“I’m praying all the time thinking - the next one’s going to be negative, the next one’s going to be negative. And it never was,” he said, adding that all his energy was completely drained fighting the infection.

Smith, a driving instructor and musician, was admitted to the hospital seven times in the last 10 months when he was actively suffering from the infection. He recalled one time when he coughed continuously for five hours.

Eventually, he recovered from the infection after getting treated with a new cocktail of anti-viral drugs by the US company Regeneron. 

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The scientists of the University of Bristol are studying the case of this ‘miracle man’ -- as Smith calls himself-- to understand how the Covid-19 virus behaves in the human body and mutates within the body.

When Smith was tested for the 44th time, his reports came out negative. However, his doctor said it could be a mistake and tested him again after a week to confirm that his report was indeed negative.