A 90-year-old woman in Belgium had been infected by both the alpha and beta variants at the same time before dying of the illness, medical researchers said.
The woman was taken to the OLV hospital in the city of Aalst on March 3 and tested positive for the coronavirus during her stay. She was unvaccinated and had been living in a nursing home.
Medical personnel found she had been carrying both the alpha and beta variants of the virus.
The woman's condition began to worsen, and she died five days after her initial diagnosis.
The alpha variant originated in the UK, while the beta variant was first discovered in South Africa.
Molecular biologist Anne Vankeerbergen from the OLV hospital said the woman likely had been infected with two different variants from two different people. Vankeerbergen said it is still unclear how she became infected with the virus.
