I was infected with the coronavirus in March. World news

It’s been 182 days since I was infected with Covid-19. Charlie Russell isn’t doing what the other 27-year-olds are doing.

He doesn’t run 5 km three times a week like he used to. He doesn’t go to the pub. He is not working And he’s not getting better.

“If I knew I was going to get this illness, I would have taken everything more seriously in March,” Russell said. “But all we heard at the time was that if you were infected and you were a young person, you would have almost no symptoms, or you would get sick for a few weeks, That would be it. “

Instead, Russell suffers from chest pain, intolerable migraines, severe shortness of breath, dizziness, and fatigue.Long Covid“Patients who have experienced long-term symptoms due to coronavirus.

Public Health According to the latest UK figures, a record number of people in their twenties are positive for covid-19. This shows that 3,366 people were infected with the virus in the first week of September.

These tests were primarily conducted on people in hospitals, more than 3,325 at the end of April. People under the age of 40 have a much lower risk of dying from illness, but people in their twenties like Russell catch much more covid-19 than other age groups: all ages 20-29 Almost 28% of newcomers have an infectious disease.

Few people need hospital treatment, but long Covid support groups and healthcare professionals fear that a significant minority will go into a serious debilitating condition that scientists do not yet understand.

Charles Shepherd, a medical advisor to the ME Association, said: Supports people with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome. At the association, a significant number of long Covid patients are working on it for support.

“If a young person gets the disease, he may not be hospitalized, but the disease can cause him to get tired of post-covid syndrome. It doesn’t happen in the majority, but There is a real risk to the significant minority, “Shepherd said.

According to Professor Tim Specter, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, about 600,000 people have post-Covid illness, and about 12% of patients report symptoms to the Covid Tracker app for more than 30 days. is. One in 200 says the effect lasts for more than 90 days.

Russell, a theater photographer, hasn’t worked since he got sick. He is accurate about the date: March 14th. “I had plenty of time to look back and think. What was I doing then? And I wondered if I hadn’t done that.”

His illness lasted for two weeks, and after a while he felt better and experienced horrific chest pain “like someone sitting on me.” However, hospital doctors and his GP showed that the test was okay, according to support group founder Francis Simpson, according to the common experience of long Covid patients. Long Covid SOSMany say they are struggling to take their symptoms seriously by health care professionals.

Russell was luckier than most – he changed the GP, and a new doctor ordered an antibody test to confirm that he had the virus. He is currently one of 500 patients and Coverscan clinical trial Due to the influence of Covid-19.

“It’s very, very frustrating when people refuse to wear masks or even follow the rules of the most basic social distances,” Russell said. “I just want to shake them and say,’I’ve lived for six months now.'”

“I think many young people, and that’s human nature. If something doesn’t directly affect you, it’s almost non-existent. I’m still out in the pub, I’m still out for dinner And my friend who doesn’t take it seriously. I’m worried about them. “

Russell was in good condition before the virus hit, with a regular 5km run of about 23 minutes. Now he is having a hard time climbing the stairs.

Long Covid SOS and other groups state that their members have received little help and little awareness of the condition. They formally recognize the long-term effects of the virus, provide financial support to those who are unable to work due to long Covids, and establish multidisciplinary clinics to assist in patient assessment and treatment. I want

Research on the long-term effects of Covid-19 has only recently begun, but Shepherd’s theory of action is that coronaviruses disrupt people’s immune system, causing cytokine storms, or overreactions in the body’s protective system. It also contributes to ME and chronic fatigue syndrome.

“Several studies over the last two or three years have shown that immune system dysfunction is probably involved in ME,” he said. The immune system continues to activate at low levels and appears to be trying to fight off viruses that no longer exist. The reaction can affect the central nervous system and the hypothalamus.

If post-Covid fatigue is associated with ME, research may provide solutions for both conditions. It was difficult to study ME because most people with symptoms have lived with it for several months. When the virus is involved, there are few traces left by the time the researchers meet the patient.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to follow people from almost day one. Researchers are building large cohorts, getting blood samples, and going from post-infection to post-virus infection fatigue. You can almost track the patient until now. I have never had the opportunity to do that. “