12/15/2023

You’ve Heard of Long COVID

Long flu is a health risk, too

Statistically, there’s a good chance you know somebody who has experienced Long COVID, the name for chronic symptoms including fatigue, brain fog, and pain following a case of COVID-19. About 14 percent of U.S. adults report having had Long COVID at some point, according to federal data.

But many people don’t realize that other viruses, even very common ones, can trigger similarly long-lasting and debilitating symptoms. A study published Dec. 14 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases focuses on the risk of developing "long flu" after a severe case of influenza.

"We learned from COVID-19 that infections that are initially thought to cause only acute illnesses can cause chronic disease," said co-author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System and a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. That's true of influenza as well, the new research shows.

Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.