{"id":114332,"date":"2021-02-25T13:28:24","date_gmt":"2021-02-25T13:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=114332"},"modified":"2021-02-25T13:28:24","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T13:28:24","slug":"debilitating-long-covid-may-have-severe-health-social-impacts-who","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/debilitating-long-covid-may-have-severe-health-social-impacts-who\/","title":{"rendered":"Debilitating 'long-COVID' may have severe health, social impacts: WHO"},"content":{"rendered":"
LONDON (Reuters) – Thousands of COVID-19 patients continue to suffer serious, debilitating and lingering symptoms many months after their initial bout of infection, with major social, health and economic consequences, European health experts said on Thursday.<\/p> Publishing a World Health Organization-led guidance report on the condition, often referred to as \u201clong COVID\u201d or \u201cpost-COVID syndrome\u201d, experts said around one in 10 COVID-19 patients are still unwell 12 weeks after their acute infection, and many suffer symptoms for far longer.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a condition that can be extremely debilitating. Those suffering from it describe a varying combination of overlapping symptoms… (including) chest and muscle pain, fatigue, shortness of breath … brain fog (and) many others,\u201d said Martin McKee, a professor at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies who led the report.<\/p>\n Hans Kluge, the WHO\u2019s European regional director, said long-COVID could have \u201csevere social, economic, health and occupational consequences\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe burden is real and it is significant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He urged health authorities to listen to patients\u2019 concerns, take them seriously, and establish services to help them.<\/p>\n Growing evidence from around the world points to many thousands of people experiencing long-COVID. The condition appears not to be linked to whether a patient had a severe or mild infection.<\/p>\n An initial report by Britain\u2019s National Institute for Health Research last year suggested long-COVID may be not one condition, but multiple syndromes causing a rollercoaster of symptoms affecting the body and mind.<\/p>\n Kluge noted that as with any new disease, much remains unknown about COVID-19.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to listen and … understand. The sufferers of post-COVID conditions need to be heard if we are to understand the long-term consequences and recovery from COVID-19,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a clear priority for WHO (and) it should be for every health authority.\u201d<\/p>\n