Italian centenarian survives both Spanish Flu and COVID-19

Italian nursing home resident Ada Zanusso recovered from COVID-19 while 20 other residents succumbed to the viral infection. Having survived the Spanish flu, the 104-year-old woman is currently the oldest COVID-19 survivor in the world. Ada joined the ranks of two other centenarians who recovered after testing positive.

The elderly woman from northern Italy had been residing in a nursing home when she started showing symptoms. Other residents of the nursing home tested positive before Ada also turned out to be infected by the novel coronavirus. Ada started vomiting, feeling feverish, and struggling to breathe. The symptoms are typical to those with COVID-19, even though many patients may be asymptomatic.

On March 17, Ada's condition worsened and became alarming. She was taken to the hospital where she tested positive. However, since her diagnosis, Ada has slowly recovered. Doctors who treated the elderly patient pointed out that Ada has now made a full recovery.

Carla Furno Marchese, the doctor who treated Ada, stated that she is active and responsive. She has been able to get up and walk about since her recovery. Ada's recovery is been seen as a sign of hope in Italy, where the death toll has started to decline.

One of Ada's four sons, Giampiero Zanusso, reiterated that his mother is currently the oldest COVID-19 survivor in the world. The Sun pointed out that before Ada's case, the oldest patients to have recovered from the viral infection were two 103-year-old women, one from Wuhan, China and the another from Iran.

In the United Kingdom, the oldest patient to have recovered is 99-year-old Rita Reynolds. The woman from Liverpool was diagnosed with COVID-19 last month. On March 255, she fell ill and remained under care at Abbeyfield care home in Bramhall, Greater Manchester. Even after her family was told to expect the worst, the former Women's Air Force driver made a complete recovery.