GENEVA: It’s time to start unraveling the mystery of Long Covid, the side of millions of pandemic lives, the World Health Organization’s director of post-Covid conditions told AFP.
Little is known about why some people, after going through the hard phase of Covid-19, struggle to get over it and suffer persistent symptoms including fatigue, fog brain, heart and brain disorders.
At this stage of the pandemic, the world is based on vaccine transmission and new, more contagious changes of the coronavirus.
However, Long Covid deserves the same urgent attention, said Janet Diaz, the clinical care director in the WHO emergency program, ahead of an effort for a unified global approach to the problem.
“We still don’t fully understand what Long Covid is,” Diaz told AFP in an interview outside the WHO headquarters in Geneva.
“There’s a lot to learn, but I’m confident that the scientific community is very interested.”
Interestingly, Long Covid does not yet have a proper name.
The WHO currently describes it as a post-Covid state, while other conditions in circulation include post-acute Covid syndrome and long-term Covid withdrawals.
The WHO is hosting the first global seminar on Long Covid on February 9. It will bring together scientists, experts and clinicians to explain the situation, give it a formal name and agree on study methods.
“It is a situation that needs more description, more understanding of how much is affected and more understanding of what causes it, so that we can better prevent, manage and treat it,” he said. Diaz, 48, a U.S. respiratory physician and intensive care physician.
She said British and other studies suggested that one in 10 cases could have prolonged symptoms one month after an infection, but there was still no picture of how long these conditions would last.
Older people and those with underlying conditions are at risk of severe Covid-19 infection.
But Long Covid’s patient image doesn’t fit. It affects people with varying degrees of severity and “seems to include younger people,” including children, Diaz said.
While the priority of a pandemic response is still to prevent people from catching the virus and becoming ill, treating coronavirus cases “now requires post-mortem care. the serious illness … until you get back to full health, ”Diaz said.
Diaz said obesity appears to be the most common symptom, with others including post-exertional malaise, cognitive dysfunction or brain fog, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and neurological problems.
“How are they all relatives – that’s what we don’t understand. Why would one person get this, and the other get that?” asked Diaz, saying researchers needed to crack down on the underlying mechanisms of the disease that were causing these persistent symptoms.
“Is it something caused by the virus? Because of the immune response? If we had a better idea, we could start targeting some interventions to reduce symptoms.”
Diaz said there was an “enormous amount” of ongoing research, mostly classical observational studies after discharged patients.
The first Covid-19 cases were discovered in China in December 2019. But it was only when Long Covid began appearing on the radar months later that secret victims began to reach out and come with the dots themselves.
“That’s been an awful move,” said Diaz, who took over Long Covid’s remit in October.
In the first wave of the pandemic, difficult health care systems got patients through the real illness, “but then they didn’t realize they weren’t getting over their previous health”.
She said the patient-led research had inspired scientists to conduct more studies, and “together we should get a quicker response”.
The February 9 conference, where scientists will present their latest findings, is the first in a regular series.
“Right now, we may have enough descriptive data to start bringing it together,” Diaz said.
In addition to agreeing definition and name, the meeting will launch standard data collection procedures for patient monitoring, and begin to open doors to prevention and clinical governance.
“We need to quickly build our understanding from each other’s experiences,” Diaz said.
Crucially, donors will be involved, and are “very aware” of the real need for Long Covid funding, she said.
In a message to the millions who may still be suffering long after they have been officially judged, Diaz said: “Stay optimistic”.
“People may have long-term symptoms, but we know people are getting over it. It may take a long time, but they are still getting back to their previous health. We are with you. ”
Little is known about why some people, after going through the hard phase of Covid-19, struggle to get over it and suffer persistent symptoms including fatigue, fog brain, heart and brain disorders.
At this stage of the pandemic, the world is based on vaccine transmission and new, more contagious changes of the coronavirus.
However, Long Covid deserves the same urgent attention, said Janet Diaz, the clinical care director in the WHO emergency program, ahead of an effort for a unified global approach to the problem.
“We still don’t fully understand what Long Covid is,” Diaz told AFP in an interview outside the WHO headquarters in Geneva.
“There’s a lot to learn, but I’m confident that the scientific community is very interested.”
Interestingly, Long Covid does not yet have a proper name.
The WHO currently describes it as a post-Covid state, while other conditions in circulation include post-acute Covid syndrome and long-term Covid withdrawals.
The WHO is hosting the first global seminar on Long Covid on February 9. It will bring together scientists, experts and clinicians to explain the situation, give it a formal name and agree on study methods.
“It is a situation that needs more description, more understanding of how much is affected and more understanding of what causes it, so that we can better prevent, manage and treat it,” he said. Diaz, 48, a U.S. respiratory physician and intensive care physician.
She said British and other studies suggested that one in 10 cases could have prolonged symptoms one month after an infection, but there was still no picture of how long these conditions would last.
Older people and those with underlying conditions are at risk of severe Covid-19 infection.
But Long Covid’s patient image doesn’t fit. It affects people with varying degrees of severity and “seems to include younger people,” including children, Diaz said.
While the priority of a pandemic response is still to prevent people from catching the virus and becoming ill, treating coronavirus cases “now requires post-mortem care. the serious illness … until you get back to full health, ”Diaz said.
Diaz said obesity appears to be the most common symptom, with others including post-exertional malaise, cognitive dysfunction or brain fog, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and neurological problems.
“How are they all relatives – that’s what we don’t understand. Why would one person get this, and the other get that?” asked Diaz, saying researchers needed to crack down on the underlying mechanisms of the disease that were causing these persistent symptoms.
“Is it something caused by the virus? Because of the immune response? If we had a better idea, we could start targeting some interventions to reduce symptoms.”
Diaz said there was an “enormous amount” of ongoing research, mostly classical observational studies after discharged patients.
The first Covid-19 cases were discovered in China in December 2019. But it was only when Long Covid began appearing on the radar months later that secret victims began to reach out and come with the dots themselves.
“That’s been an awful move,” said Diaz, who took over Long Covid’s remit in October.
In the first wave of the pandemic, difficult health care systems got patients through the real illness, “but then they didn’t realize they weren’t getting over their previous health”.
She said the patient-led research had inspired scientists to conduct more studies, and “together we should get a quicker response”.
The February 9 conference, where scientists will present their latest findings, is the first in a regular series.
“Right now, we may have enough descriptive data to start bringing it together,” Diaz said.
In addition to agreeing definition and name, the meeting will launch standard data collection procedures for patient monitoring, and begin to open doors to prevention and clinical governance.
“We need to quickly build our understanding from each other’s experiences,” Diaz said.
Crucially, donors will be involved, and are “very aware” of the real need for Long Covid funding, she said.
In a message to the millions who may still be suffering long after they have been officially judged, Diaz said: “Stay optimistic”.
“People may have long-term symptoms, but we know people are getting over it. It may take a long time, but they are still getting back to their previous health. We are with you. ”