Doctors have created a virtual reality video showing the rapid effect that Covid-19 has on the body.

In a 3D simulation of a set of lungs, the deadly disease can be seen moving rapidly, having infected the organ’s tissue, turning them from a healthy blue to a sickly green/yellow.

The video was created by doctors at George Washington University Hospital (GWUH) in the US, who used VR technology to show the devastating impact the coronavirus can have.

It was based on a patient in their 50s, who had been transferred to GWUH after his initial symptoms of a fever, shortness of breath and a cough quickly escalated. Despite being hooked up to a ventilator, his condition deteriorated and he needed intensive treatment.

The current condition of the patient is not known.

Speaking on the hospital’s podcast HealthCast about the video, Dr. Keith Mortman, chief of thoracic surgery at GW Hospital, said ‘you do not need an MD’ to understand the damage being done.

He said: “What we’re seeing is that there was rapid and progressive damage to the lungs so that he needed higher levels of support from that ventilator and it got to the point where he needed maximal support from the ventilator.

“There is such a stark contrast between the virus-infected abnormal lung and the more healthy, adjacent lung tissue.

“And it’s such a contrast that you do not need an MD after your name to understand these images… the damage we’re seeing is not isolated to any one part of the lung. This is severe damage to both lungs diffusely.”

But while most people who contract the virus will survive, Dr Mortman says for those who suffer the same kind of damage as the patient in the video, even if they survive the effects of Covid-19 could be irreversible.

He went on: “When that inflammation does not subside with time, then it becomes essentially scarring in the lungs, creating long-term damage. It could impact somebody’s ability to breathe in the long term.”

Dr Mortman warned that this video was a stark reminder of what this virus can do to anyone, no matter our age or health condition.

Adding: “It is affecting every age group and every country, all 50 states in the US, so this is nationwide, a global, a community problem.”

Yesterday (26 March), the UK Government announced that more than 100 people had died from coronavirus in the last 24 hours.