You have probably already heard of long Covid. This disease (which affects 2 million people in France, according to Inserm) is characterized by persistence of symptoms of Covid-19 after infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and for at least 2 months.
“Presumably the consequence of abnormalities in the functioning of the immune system“according to Inserm, long Covid is more common”following a severe form of Covid-19“. It can manifest itself in particular through persistent disorders of taste and smell, chest pain or digestive problems.
But long Covid would not be the only “persistent” disease to fear. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London (in the United States) believe they have discovered the existence of a “long cold”.
Long cold: an illness that could occur after a cold, pneumonia or flu
Since 2020, British researchers have been following a group of 10,171 adults as part of national Covid-19 monitoring. Thanks to the medical data thus collected, scientists identified that, in certain patients who tested negative for Covid-19, the persistence of flu symptoms was observed.
The “long cold” as defined by the researchers would thus be characterized by cough, abdominal pain and/or diarrhea still present at least 4 weeks after the initial infection. In addition, scientists believe that colds, pneumonia or even the flu (viral and bacterial infections) could be the origin of this famous “long cold”.
“These long-term infections are unfortunately complicated to diagnose because they are expressed through a wide variety of symptoms.” however deplore the British researchers.
Source : eClinicalMedicine
