Researchers have pinpointed 16 new genetic variants in people who developed severe COVID-19 that may help explain why some patients develop serious symptoms.

The results suggest that people with severe disease have genes that predispose them to one of two problems: a failure to limit replication of SARS-CoV-2 or excessive inflammation and blood clotting.

The authors said their findings, published in Nature, could help prioritise likely treatments for COVID-19.

Eventually, the information could even help predict which patients were likely to become severely ill, they said.