Blood tests attest to the persistence of the Covid-19 virus in patients for up to a year after the presumed date of infection.
- About 25% of infected people have persistent symptoms one month after contamination.
- 10% of infected people have symptoms more than three months later.
Most people infected with Covid-19 recover within a week or two. For others, the symptoms persist. When they last beyond four weeks after infection, scientists speak of long Covid. Fatigue, respiratory problems, chest pain, headaches, skin problems or eye disorders are the main manifestations.
A virus that persists in the body
In June 2022, an American research team carried out a study on the subject. Their work, published in medRxiv, have not yet been peer reviewed. The authors recruited a group of 63 patients, including 37 with long Covid. The scientists analyzed blood samples, collected up to twelve months after the first positive test. “We detected either S1, spike or N, in approximately 65% of patients with long Covid, regardless of timing, and several months after infection., describe the authors. S1 is one of the proteins of the virus, like spike and N. On the other hand, they did not spot any spike protein circulating in the blood of patients who did not have a long form of the disease.
Virus reservoirs
“The presence of a circulating spike protein in the body supports the hypothesis that an active virus reservoir persists in the body.”, conclude the authors. They recall that other studies have shown that the RNA of the virus was present in different parts of the body, several months after the onset of symptoms. Traces of the virus have thus been found in respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, cerebral and even nervous tissues.
In previous work, the scientific team found the presence of a virus reservoir in the gastrointestinal tract, the largest part of the digestive system, in children with pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, known as PIMS or MISC, a severe form of Covid-19.
What to do in case of persistent symptoms?
L’Health Insurance recommends consulting your doctor in the event of prolonged symptoms of Covid-19. “It is important to know that the recovery time can be more or less long after a Covid-19 infection, specifies the organization. As with other viral infections, the time it takes to return to pre-existing health varies from person to person.To reduce it, you must ensure that you get enough sleep, eat a balanced diet, and limit the consumption of stimulants. The gradual resumption of physical activity, gradually increasing the duration and intensity, is also important. In the most serious cases, there are dedicated units in hospitals for post-Covid symptoms, which allow comprehensive care.