The investigation into long-standing Covid-19 cases took a step forward on Thursday with the launch of an international study aimed at collecting standardized data on the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Consortium on Serious and Emerging Acute Respiratory Infections (ISARIC) have announced the launch of a project to collect data to better understand the characteristics of Covid cases in the long term.
In a statement issued by the WHO, ISARIC said that the long-standing Covid, which remains one of the least understood aspects of the pandemic, was an “emerging global health crisis.” Little is known about why some people, after going through the acute phase of the infection, have trouble recovering and suffer persistent symptoms such as shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, and brain ailments, as well as heart and neurological disorders.
Although a “significant number” of patients with Covid-19 go on to suffer from Covid syndrome in the long term, “the data on this disease is limited and based on a small number of patients, with short-term follow-up,” he said. . . ISARICA. “There is a need to optimize and standardize the collection and communication of clinical data between studies (particularly clinical trials) and clinical practice for this condition,” adds the organization. This research program will begin with a survey of people living with long-term Covid.
Nearly 205 million cases of coronavirus have been recorded since the outbreak of the epidemic in China in December 2019, according to a count established from official sources. The actual figure, including unrecorded cases, is certainly much higher, while the number of people with long-term Covid is simply unknown. The WHO said last week that it was working to implement better rehabilitation programs for people with this form of the disease.