SWAlexander
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Long COVID is by no means unique in causing a wide array of symptoms that persist for weeks, months, or even years after a person has recovered from the acute infection. “Post-acute infection syndromes have been going on for decades—or maybe hundreds of years—but we haven’t been paying attention,” says Akiko Iwasaki, PhD, Yale School of Medicine’s Sterling Professor of Immunobiology. “They’ve historically been ignored.”
Expert:
The term post-acute infection syndrome refers to chronic diseases that occur after an acute viral, bacterial, or parasitic infection, including chronic Lyme and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). And evidence from a study published this month suggests that acute respiratory infections may also lead to long-term symptoms, named “long cold.”
Causes of Long COVID and other post-acute infection syndromes are still unknown, but Iwasaki lists four hypotheses. First, lingering viral remnants could be inducing chronic inflammation, which is known to cause a wide range of symptoms. Second, the acute infection may also have triggered an autoimmune response within the body. Third, it could be the result of a latent virus like the Epstein-Barr virus—the pathogen behind mononucleosis—becoming reactivated after the infection. Finally, tissue damage caused by infection that the body fails to repair properly is another possible cause. These hypotheses, says Iwasaki, are not mutually exclusive, and many people with Long COVID could be suffering from a combination of these outcomes.
continue reading: https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/the-long-history-of-long-covid-and-other-chronic-illnesses/
Expert:
The term post-acute infection syndrome refers to chronic diseases that occur after an acute viral, bacterial, or parasitic infection, including chronic Lyme and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). And evidence from a study published this month suggests that acute respiratory infections may also lead to long-term symptoms, named “long cold.”
Causes of Long COVID and other post-acute infection syndromes are still unknown, but Iwasaki lists four hypotheses. First, lingering viral remnants could be inducing chronic inflammation, which is known to cause a wide range of symptoms. Second, the acute infection may also have triggered an autoimmune response within the body. Third, it could be the result of a latent virus like the Epstein-Barr virus—the pathogen behind mononucleosis—becoming reactivated after the infection. Finally, tissue damage caused by infection that the body fails to repair properly is another possible cause. These hypotheses, says Iwasaki, are not mutually exclusive, and many people with Long COVID could be suffering from a combination of these outcomes.
continue reading: https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/the-long-history-of-long-covid-and-other-chronic-illnesses/
