- Long-term Covid remains one of the most mysterious aspects of the pandemic.
- The World Health Organization urges people who are struggling with the sequelae of the virus to seek medical help.
- Symptoms of Long Covid include chest pain, tingling, and rash.
Almost 200 million people are known to suffer from Covid-19, and the WHO said on Wednesday that it is deeply concerned about the unknown number of people who may still be suffering from long-term Covid-19.
The World Health Organization urges those struggling with the sequelae of the virus-even though they have recovered from the acute phase-to seek medical help.
Long-term Covid remains one of the most mysterious aspects of the pandemic.
Maria Van Kerkhove, head of Covid-19 technology at the United Nations health agency, said at a press conference: “This post-Covid syndrome or Long Covid is a matter of deep concern to the WHO.”
The WHO “makes sure we recognize this because it is true.”
A draft report seen by Reuters shows that the World Health Organization is seeking US$11.5 billion in emergency funding to fight the more contagious variant of the Coronavirus Delta, because of fears that rich countries will partially bypass their Covid-19 plans.https://t.co/ZgZBlbwuJc
— News24 (@News24) August 4, 2021
She said that for people infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19 disease), “many people are suffering long-term effects”.
“We don’t know how long these effects will last, and we are even developing a case definition to better understand and describe what this post-Covid syndrome is,” Van Kerkhove said.
She said that WHO is working to develop better rehabilitation plans for long-term Covid patients and conduct more extensive research to better understand what the syndrome is and how to manage it.
More than 200 symptoms
The WHO organized a series of seminars this year to expand the understanding of the post-Covid situation. It not only listened to the opinions of scientists and doctors, but also directly listened to the opinions of the patients themselves.
Few people know why some people have difficulty recovering after experiencing the acute phase and suffer persistent symptoms, including shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and brain fog, as well as heart and nervous system diseases.
Read here | Long Covid: One third of the patients return to the hospital after three months. Where is the treatment?
Janet Diaz, head of clinical care for the WHO emergency project, who led the organization’s long-term Covid work, said that more than 200 symptoms have been reported.
She said at a WHO live social media meeting on Tuesday that they included chest pain, tingling and skin rashes.
Diaz said that some patients’ symptoms start in the acute phase; others get better and then relapse, the condition may come and go; and the symptoms of others only appear after they recover from the acute phase.
The study can only be traced back to the first batch of patients who recovered from Covid-19, which first appeared in China in December 2019.
Diaz said that some people seem to have symptoms lasting three months after Covid, while others have up to six months.
Diaz said: “We are worried that a small part may last for nine months-or even longer.”
The American expert said that the causes of post-virus symptoms are not yet fully understood, and various hypotheses have been put forward, including neurological problems, immune responses to infections, and the persistence of the virus in certain organs.
Van Kerkhove said: “We advise anyone who has suffered long-term effects to seek help.”
