COVID-19 autopsies are desperately needed. Can India help?
It is unfortunate that we are seeing an increasing number of deaths from COVID-19 in India. This represents another opportunity to study the asymptomatic phase of SARS-COV2. Differentiating the pathology between mild and severe COVID-19, especially in younger people is of paramount importance to the world.
COVID-19 is a viral infection where in a small percentage of people, the immune response is overwhelming and damages organs throughout the body, especially the lungs.
Detailed study is needed to follow the immune response and histopathological changes in the lungs within 3 days of infection. Not easy, but possible. The world could support India through this crisis while studying the disease.
Only a few incidental cases of pathology in early disease have been seen across the world. This is not good enough.