{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T02:25:30Z","timestamp":1760149530598,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,25]],"date-time":"2023-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1692921600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Regional Development Fund","award":["ITMS: 313011AUA5"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ITMS: 313011AUA5"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>After the acute phase of COVID-19, some patients develop long COVID. This term is used for a variety of conditions with a complex, yet not fully elucidated etiology, likely including the prolonged persistence of the virus in the organism and progression to lung fibrosis. We present a unique autopsy case of a patient with severe COVID-19 with prolonged viral persistence who developed interstitial lung fibrosis complicated by a fatal combination of cytomegalovirus and Aspergillus infection. SARS-CoV-2 virus was detected at autopsy in the lungs more than two months after the acute infection, although tests from the nasopharynx were negative. Immune dysregulation after COVID-19 and the administration of corticoid therapy created favorable conditions for the cytomegalovirus and Aspergillus infection that were uncovered at autopsy. These pathogens may represent a risk for opportunistic infections, complicating not only the acute coronavirus infection but also long COVID, as was documented in the presented case.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v15091810","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,25]],"date-time":"2023-08-25T08:33:09Z","timestamp":1692952389000},"page":"1810","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Long COVID Complicated by Fatal Cytomegalovirus and Aspergillus Infection of the Lungs: An Autopsy Case Report"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Lucia","family":"Krivosikova","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Pathological Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tereza","family":"Kuracinova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Pathological Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Martanovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Health Care Surveillance Authority, 829 24 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6519-4967","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michaela","family":"Hyblova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medirex Group Academy, n.p.o., 949 05 Nitra, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jozef","family":"Kaluzay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"4th Department of Internal Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexandra","family":"Uhrinova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Agel Radiologia, s.r.o., 811 06 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0036-7286","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pavol","family":"Janega","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Pathological Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia"},{"name":"Centre of Experimental Medicine, Institute of Normal and Pathological Physiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 813 71 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pavel","family":"Babal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Pathological Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia"},{"name":"Medirex Group Academy, n.p.o., 949 05 Nitra, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"12","article-title":"Contribution of immunohistochemistry to histomorphological diagnostics of COVID-19 pneumonia","volume":"12","author":"Horak","year":"2021","journal-title":"Newslab"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"210","DOI":"10.1038\/s41590-021-01113-x","article-title":"Immunological dysfunction persists for 8 months following initial mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection","volume":"23","author":"Phetsouphanh","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat. 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