Symptoms of Covid could persist for more than 6 weeks

One year after the onset of Covid-19, knowledge about the disease is evolving. A Geneva study of 700 out-of-hospital patients reveals that for a third of them, the symptoms of the virus last more than six weeks after diagnosis. An expected result explains Professor Idris Guessous: “We had clinical intuition, but the work of the whole team was to give a precise figure.” Cough, loss of taste and smell, fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches, the symptoms are numerous and research is still in its early stages to understand their persistence in some patients. Doctors are therefore counting on the long term to strengthen their knowledge of the virus and how it works: “The ambition is to follow patients for several years to obtain more information.”

This investigation also brings attention to the violence of Covid-19. Among the 700 patients studied, 69% did not present any risk factor and some were nevertheless affected for long weeks by the virus, proof that “the sequelae of the disease can affect everyone” announces Dr. Mayssam Nehme. The disease could therefore force workers to suspend their professional activity for several weeks, information that must be taken into account by insurers.

Elio Sottas

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