After 9 months of surviving Corona, symptoms remain with half of the recovered
New research shows that even after nine months of surviving infection with the Corona virus, about 50% of patients still suffer from the long-term side effects of Covid-19, such as loss of taste, fatigue, and impaired thinking and concentration.
A long-term study in university hospitals in Kiel, Würzburg and Berlin, Germany, revealed that residual symptoms persisted for young, athletic patients who contracted the virus in the first wave, as well as for older patients who were severely infected in the second wave.
The 50% rate is significantly higher than previous estimates.
The World Health Organization has estimated that only 1 in 10 people infected with COVID-19 are still in poor health 12 weeks after contracting the virus.
However, Professor Thomas Bahmer, one of the lead researchers on the study, noted that it was not yet certain whether Covid-19 disease was the cause of the complaint in all cases.
Other factors could also include prolonged intensive medical treatment and general psychological stress from the pandemic, Bahmer said.
The study was funded by the University Medical Research Network and the state of Schleswig-Holstein, and has been ongoing since November 2020. Since then, about 1,500 patients have been examined in Germany.
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