Some specific genes are found in severely ill COVID-19 patients that are directing the immune system in wrong way when a study was done on 2,200 ICU patients and published in Nature by Dr. Kenneth Baillie a consultant in medicine at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh.

In UK when compared the genes of healthy person with ICU patient’s of COVID-19, scientists found that TYK2 gene functionality is having some fault leading to severe lung inflammation in COVID-19 patients. Normally this gene should show inflammatory reaction against virus entered into body but here autoimmunity is seen which is similar in case of Baricitinib drug usage in Rheumatoid arthritis.

DPP9 gene functioning in inflammation and OAS gene in stopping of virus replication when noraml was also modified in COVID-19 infected person. IFNAR2 gene was also modified in ICU patients. IFNAR2 is called interferon that shows antiviral activity by making the immune system active. In case of COVID-19 infection these important gene products are secreted in very little amount thereby making the virus to spread the infection more severely.

Studies on Chromosome 3 of human by Dr. Vanessa Sancho –Shimizu a geneticist from Imperial College London said that some cluster of genes on this chromosome is the cause for the severity of symptoms in COVID-19 patients but the mechanisms has to be understood yet.

Finally genetic mutations and autoimmune diseases may have instigated the immune system to make the disease in severe.