Long Covid

 Long Covid

PKGhatak, MD

Long covid is a new disease. The precise definition of Long covid is lacking. A cornucopia of symptoms lasting for weeks to 18 months or more experienced by people who had a covid illness and recovered are thought to be the sequel to covid infection and named Long Covid.

There is no reliable way to determine the percentage of the world population developed Covid-19. In January 2022 one estimated the rate was 57 %, another source reported it was over 75% in January 2022 (6+ billion out of 8 billion).

The vast majority of covid-19 illness produces symptoms that are very similar to the Common cold and symptoms last only 3 to 5 days. The number of seriously ill patients worldwide will remain unknown because the variable of public health standards prevails in the vast number of developing countries and local politics prevented notification.

Who developed Long Covid.

The wide spectrum of people with mild symptoms or no symptoms but who had a positive PCR test to more seriously ill patients with a variety of symptoms are considered to have Long Covid. Even those who were fully vaccinated and boosted contact with the virus also report long lasting symptoms. It appears severity of symptoms is not a factor in acquiring Long Covid. It is estimated that 35 to 20 % of patients who recovered from covid-19 infection developed Long Covid.

What are the symptoms of Long Covid.

General. Loss of weight. Lethargy. Palpitations, Pain in joints, skin rashes,

Respiratory. Unproductive cough, shortness of breath, worsening existing asthma and COPD

Neurological. Loss of smell or taste and both, weakness, numbness, lightheartedness, brain fog (difficulty in thinking and concentration), disturbed sleep,

Psychological. Depressive mood, lack of energy, pain and tenderness in many areas of the body, anxiety.

GI. Lack of appetite, intermittent diarrhea, vague abdominal pain, bloating sensation.

Cardiac. Variable BP and sudden surge of BP, palpitation, chest pain.

Urinary. Dysuria and frequency.

Metabolic/ Hormonal. Out of control blood sugar, thyroid function, menopausal symptoms, lack of libido. 

Worsening of symptoms that remained after recovering from severe covid-19, like heart failure, asthma, paralysis of limbs, etc. Weakness and brain fog are mostly responsible for absenteeism at the workplace in the long covid.

Many researchers noted that these symptoms are not unlike symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome also known as Myalgic encephalomyelitis and PTSD (post-traumatic stress syndrome)

What are the reason/ reasons for Long Covid.

No one reason stands out among several put forward so far. In general, people who are immunodeficient are more prone to Long Covid. It is theorized that immunocytes in these groups fail to clear the virus but the virus is weakened and continues to infect new tissues. This model fits with the observation that patients treated with a cocktail of antibodies during the early phase of infection have higher instances of Long Covid.

Another interesting theory is the virus takes sanctuary within the immunocytes and waits for an opportunity to re-emerge like HIV/ASIDS virus and Paxlovid breakthrough infection. Recent discovery points to Langerhans cells of the skin which engulf the virus but fail to digest because the virus directs anti-enzyme to neutralize the digestive enzymes of the Langerhans cells.

Long covid has emerged as a major disabling illness putting a drag on the economy and untold suffering for people eager to return to work but unable to.

Initially, it appeared booster covid shots were beneficial in terms of lessening the symptoms and the length of the period of disability. But subsequent studies failed to find any benefit of the booster shots.

Covid -19 pandemic caused havoc to humanity. It continues to evolve as a major health risk factor worldwide. One reliable source report 6 million deaths from covid-19, others think that number is way short of the actual number, citing India as an example. The WHO reports one million covid deaths since January 2022 alone.

Sooner or later a plateau will be reached in the rate of new covid-19 infections which can be managed like Influenza outbreaks with vaccines given every year. Antiviral drugs against the covid-19 virus may prove to be as elusive as HIV/AIDS virus. And hopefully, the Long Covid will be just another cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis for those who prefer Latin names.

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