Cold Sore’ Virus may have Gained Prominence to Bronze Age Smooching

The symptoms and incidence of extended COVID in non-hospitalized patients have been the subject of the largest, most recent analysis. Reduced libido and hair loss were among the many symptoms linked to lengthy COVID that the research found, and it was recommended that the disorder be divided into three different groups rather than being treated as a single disease. Long COVID, also called as PASC (post-acute sequelae of COVID-19), still lacks a precise clinical description, which is aggravating.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only requires four weeks to pass before a patient with lingering symptoms qualifies for long COVID, whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies the condition as COVID-19 symptoms that persist for longer than 12 weeks after an initial infection. The CDC also provides a list of around 20 symptoms that might be long COVID.

In this new study, 486,149 patients in the UK with a history of moderate COVID-19 were included in a large-scale review of healthcare data (no patient was hospitalised due to their acute infection). A control group of almost two million patients who had no history of COVID-19 infection was compared to this cohort. The research covered a period from January 2020 to April 2021, which was the beginning of the epidemic.

In comparison to the matched control group, the post-COVID patients were more likely to report 62 distinct symptoms to their local doctor at least 12 weeks after their acute infection. The disparities in symptom reporting between the two groups persisted even after controlling for variables including Age, weight, and pre-existing medical issues, indicating that the symptoms may be related to COVID-19.