Written By: Satata Karmakar | Updated : May 12, 2022 11:06 AM IST
It is more than two and half years now that the world is fighting the deadly SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19 infection. Looking at the severity of the virus, its transmissibility rate and what it does to the infected person, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared it a 'pandemic' back in 2020. In the last 2 years, many researchers have come up with the complications that the virus can cause among the patients during the course of infection. But little has been discussed about what a COVID patient is left with after recovering from the infection.
In the latest study, which was published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, researchers have revealed that COVID never leaves one completely. Yes, you heard that right. Even after recovery, the patients who have fought the odds of the COVID virus infection are prone to suffer from at least one or more symptoms of the disease.
According to the researchers who conducted the study, evidence has shown that a considerable proportion of people who have recovered from COVID-19 have long-term effects on multiple organs and systems. "Regardless of initial disease severity, Covid-19 survivors had longitudinal improvements in physical and mental health, with most returning to their original work within two years; however, the burden of symptomatic sequelae remained fairly high. Covid-19 survivors had a remarkably lower health status than the general population at two years. The study findings indicate that there is an urgent need to explore the pathogenesis of long Covid and develop effective interventions to reduce the risk of long Covid," the study quoted the researchers as saying.
NEW Two years after infection, half of people hospitalised with #COVID19 have at least one symptom, follow-up study suggests. Read in @LancetRespirMed: https://t.co/AP1sdkAcCGpic.twitter.com/X2TNYuJtix
The Lancet (@TheLancet) May 11, 2022
"COVID-19 survivors had a remarkably lower health status than the general population at 2 years. The study findings indicate that there is an urgent need to explore the pathogenesis of long COVID and develop effective interventions to reduce the risk of long COVID," it further added.
The study further talks about 'Long COVID' which the researchers believe can prevent a COVID recovered individual from living a normal life. Some of the long COVID conditions are -
Apart from the ones mentioned above, the Lancet study has also mentioned the most frequently reported symptom which has been reported among the COVID recovered patients for 2 years after recovery - Fatigue. Talking about the same, the study authors said, "Regardless of initial disease severity. Consistent with our findings, a high prevalence of fatigue was also observed during the recovery phase of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and could persist for up to four years."
(With inputs from agencies)
