The flu can also be followed by long-lasting COVID-like symptoms. Here’s how to prevent both.

long covid It is a post-viral disease that occurs after being infected with COVID. Also known as PASC, or acute sequelae of COVID, it is usually defined as a new symptom that develops after infection and persists for at least 4 weeks (often months and sometimes years).

Similar post-viral disease It can also occur with other viruses, such as influenza, herpes, Lyme disease, and even Ebola and SARS. Chronic fatigue syndrome-like symptomsfatigue, brain fog, and post-exercise malaise, which are exacerbated after mental or physical activity.

Post-viral illness from COVID is generally less of a problem than the flu, at least in the Omicron era, when looking at the proportion of infected people who develop post-viral illness and the severity of symptoms. According to new findings presented this week at the European Conference on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

The survey was conducted among residents of Queensland, Australia. In the region, more than 90% of the population had been vaccinated before his Omicron hit the global scene in early 2022.

Over a 12-week period, researchers followed approximately 2,200 adults with a laboratory-confirmed COVID diagnosis and approximately 1,000 adults with a laboratory-confirmed influenza diagnosis. Of those who experienced Omicron, the fifth (21%) had persistent symptoms in her 12 weeks, and 4% reported symptoms that moderately or severely affected their daily activities.

For those who have had the flu, the figures are similar, with 23% reporting persistent symptoms and 4% reporting moderate or severe impact on daily life over 12 weeks.

But there’s a reason COVID is having such a big impact on the health system, says Queensland Health researchers. news release: Huge amount of COVID infections.

According to the World Health Organization, there have been more than 11 million laboratory-confirmed COVID infections in Australia in the past three years.

Only Australia in comparison Last year, there were just over 225,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said, “In our highly vaccinated population, the long-term public health impact of COVID is likely due to the unique characteristics of SARS-CoV-2. It doesn’t seem to be the cause,” he said. “Rather, the impact is due to the large number of people infected in a short period of time.”

long COVID risk factors

Interestingly, this study noted that members of the following groups were less likely to report moderate or severe functional limitations in their daily lives after omicron or influenza.

• senior citizen
• member of indigenous people

About 5% to 10% of Australians infected with COVID report that their symptoms have lasted longer than 3 months. People belonging to the following groups appear to be at greater risk: According to the country’s federal health agency:

• woman
• middle aged
• People with severe COVID

In general, people with the following health conditions are at higher risk of developing long-term COVID: According to a March journal article in health problems:

• high blood pressure
• chronic lung disease
• obesity
• Diabetes
• depression

How to prevent a long COVID

The best way to prevent COVID from lasting longer is to continue to prevent COVID infection. Please do the following: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• masking
• avoid crowds
• Frequent, high-quality hand washing
• Keep away from people with known illnesses

It is widely believed that COVID vaccination can reduce the risk of developing COVID in the long term. Just one shot can reduce your risk by 35%. According to Harvard Health.

When it comes to reducing the risk of long-term COVID, “vaccination is very effective,” said Dr. Louis Ostroski, director of infectious diseases and epidemiology at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hellman, Texas. State infectious disease director. UTHealth Houston’s COVID-19 Center of Excellence-To tell luck.

How to prevent post-influenza viral infections

The same recommendations apply if you’re trying to prevent illness after a potential viral infection with the flu, says Ostrosky. ”

“COVID has been a real eye-opener for all of us in terms of the power of masking and hand hygiene,” he adds. high quality

When it comes to flu, COVID vaccines are useless. However, he advises that flu vaccines may reduce the risk of developing complications after viral infection with influenza.