Spotlight recently reported on a court case aimed at expanding access to breakthrough new treatments for cystic fibrosis and on how this debilitating disease is diagnosed in South Africa. Now, in Part 3 of this special series, Catherine Tomlinson turns the spotlight on how the disease is being.
These symptoms range from muscle weakness and fatigue, anxiety and depression, to more severe respiratory issues.
These long-term effects of the virus are what some scientists are calling long-Covid. However, while this study is one of the first large studies on long-Covid, much remains uncertain about the virus’ lasting impact on the body.
“We’re not 100% sure how many people are going to suffer from ongoing symptoms. It’s not the case in all circumstances, but conversely it actually is the case that some patients in the acute illness are relatively asymptomatic, so it’s difficult to know how many people will have ongoing symptoms or in fact how long those symptoms will actually last for,” says Guy Richards, professor emeritus in critical care at Wits University.
A Chinese cohort study published earlier this month in
The Lancet medical journal found that over 75% of patients that were previously hospitalised with Covid-19 had at least one lingering symptom six months later.
These symptoms range from muscle weakness and fatigue, anxiety and depression, to more severe respiratory issues. These long-term effects of the virus are what some scientists are calling long Covid.
However, while this study is one of the first large studies on long Covid, much remains uncertain about the virus’ lasting impact on the body.
“We’re not 100% sure how many people are going to suffer from ongoing symptoms.