One in ten patients who recover will show symptoms 6 months after infection. SingaporeNews & Top Stories

A study led by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NCID) found that 1 in 10 Covid-19 patients who recovered had persistent symptoms 6 months after the initial infection.

In this condition, known as “long covid,” patients continued to experience symptoms, most commonly prolonged coughing and shortness of breath, even after recovering from covid-19. Other symptoms included persistent fatigue, dizziness, and insomnia, which were not frequently observed.

More importantly, the study also found elevated inflammatory markers, regardless of whether the person was in a serious or mild case. These proteins in the blood are associated with conditions that affect the circulatory system and are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

As expert The Sunday Times talked about this issue earlier, long covids are a serious concern that if they become widespread, they could put a strain on society and the economy in the coming years.

It increases the number of hidden victims of the pandemic, and the long-term non-optimal health conditions indicate a significant need for people to avoid infection in the first place.

Three other public hospitals were involved in the NCID-led study. Patients usually participated in the study during the first week of illness and were monitored for 6 months.

A total of 288 patients were hired, of whom 183 returned for outpatient follow-up.

People over the age of 65, non-Chinese, and severely ill are more likely to have persistent symptoms. The reason for the connection with non-Chinese is unknown.

The study, which began in mid-January last year shortly after the first case was detected in Singapore, studies the long-term effects of Covid-19 up to two years after infection and how protective immunization is performed. The purpose is to understand. It evolves over time from infection.

Dr. Burnaby Young, an NCID consultant involved in the study, said, “From inherited cases, we understand that the virus actually caused widespread damage, even though the lungs are the major organs affected. I’m doing it. “

This included damage to the lining of the heart and small blood vessels.

In some individuals, the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 damages blood vessels, especially small blood vessels that are present in all parts of the body, causing blood supply blockage and bleeding.

Dr. Young pointed out that much is still unknown about the long Covid.

Symptoms are widespread, nonspecific, and of varying duration, but the underlying mechanism is unknown.

International organizations such as the World Health Organization are also actively collecting a lot of information.

NCID is undertaking another study of whether Covid-19 has long-term inflammatory effects.

NCID aims to identify the mechanisms behind inflammation and identify groups at risk by drawing blood from the study. Patients have been steadily recruited since April and preliminary results are expected in the next 6 months.

Dr. Young also said that vaccination is likely to help prevent long-term covids, although clear data are still lacking.

“This is because in individuals infected with Covid-19 despite vaccination, the immune response elicited by the vaccine can still significantly reduce the severity of the infection,” he said.

Sylviasim, 58, a recovered Covid-19 patient, said it took about a year to fully regain her sense of smell. She was virus positive on April 6th last year and was discharged on April 25th.

“When I was first diagnosed, I had a fever and lost my sense of smell and taste. My sense of taste returned after only 6 months and my sense of smell returned after a year. To date, I sometimes smell. I can’t, “she said.

Madame Sim’s condition will fall under a long Covid, Dr. Young said.

“Some aspects of long covid are associated with’post-viral syndrome’with long-term fatigue, dizziness and other symptoms. Loss of taste and smell can be matched as well, “he said.

Other complications, such as blood clots, may also be considered part of a long covid, he added.

“These different symptoms are probably all related to each other, but can be caused by different combinations of chronic inflammation, certain aspects of the immune response to infection, or perhaps residual viral fragments.”

Studies elsewhere have also shown the debilitating effect of a long covid on a pandemic. Almost a quarter of them are treated for new conditions such as nerve and muscle pain and high cholesterol, according to a survey last month that tracked health insurance records for about two million people in the United States who were infected with the coronavirus last year. I was looking for it. , High blood pressure and malaise.