Turkish man still coronavirus positive after record 14 consecutive months
- Muzaffer Kayasan, 56, has Turkey’s longest recorded continuous Covid-19 infection, possibly due to a weakened immune system from leukaemia
- He has spent nine months in hospital and five months mostly alone in his flat, and is not allowed to get vaccinated while still testing positive
When Muzaffer Kayasan first caught Covid-19, he thought he was destined to die since he was already suffering from leukaemia.
Fourteen months and 78 straight positive tests later, he is still alive – and still battling to shake off the infection.
Kayasan, 56, has Turkey’s longest recorded continuous Covid-19 infection, doctors say, possibly due to a weakened immune system from the cancer. Despite being in and out of hospital since November 2020, his spirits have been high.
“I guess this is the female version of Covid – she has been obsessed with me,” Kayasan joked last week as he found out that his latest PCR test was, yet again, positive.
Nine months in hospital and five months mostly alone in his flat have separated him from much of the outside world, including his granddaughter, Azra, who stays in the garden while visiting, talking through the glass back door.
“I will play with you when I get well,” he told her through a mask after giving her a plastic toy telephone.