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▪Identify signs and symptoms of long COVID which occur after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
▪Identify potential multidisciplinary teams for patient care.
▪Describe common challenges to post-acute COVID-19 care.
▪Describe examples of patient-centered, interdisciplinary post-acute COVID-19 care.

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The first case of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.1 COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV). As of 15 November 2020, more than 54 million people have been infected, and more than one million deaths have been reported.2 In Oman, as of 15 November 2020, 118 000 cases have been reported, with 1338 deaths.2 The first two cases were diagnosed on 24 February 2020, in Muscat governorate.3 The acute presentation of a COVID-19 infected patient has been well described in various studies.4 The majority of patients presented with a fever, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Many papers have described multi-organ involvement.5 The acute illness is mild in the majority of the patients. Even so, around 20% of those infected need hospitalization, and around 5% require critical care with non-invasive or mechanical ventilation.6

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WEDNESDAY, June 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Some folks suffering COVID long-haul symptoms might actually be experiencing an attack of fatigue-inducing Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a new study argues.

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NDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Why a person would still present symptoms of the coronavirus after they’ve cleared the infection has remained a mystery to doctors for more than a year.

Now, they may have an answer. In a new paper published in the latest issue of Pathogens, scientists say it has to do with the reactivation of another viral infection: the Epstein-Barr virus.

Brief description of media:

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation resulting from the inflammatory response to coronavirus infection may be the cause of previously unexplained long COVID symptoms -- such as fatigue, brain fog, and rashes -- that occur in approximately 30% of patients after recovery from initial COVID-19 infection. The first evidence linking EBV reactivation to long COVID, as well as an analysis of long COVID prevalence, is outlined in a new long COVID study published in the journal Pathogens.

Brief description of media:

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation resulting from the inflammatory response to coronavirus infection may be the cause of previously unexplained long COVID symptoms—such as fatigue, brain fog, and rashes—that occur in approximately 30% of patients after recovery from initial COVID-19 infection. The first evidence linking EBV reactivation to long COVID, as well as an analysis of long COVID prevalence, is outlined in a new long COVID study published in the journal Pathogens.

Brief description of media:

Even mild cases of COVID-19 in young people often lead to lingering symptoms and health complications that drag on for six months or longer, according to a small Norwegian study published this week in Nature Medicine.

Researchers at the University of Bergen carefully followed 312 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 for at least six months. Of those, 247 had mild to moderate illnesses and isolated at home, never becoming sick enough to be admitted to a hospital. Six months after testing positive, 136 of the 247 (55 percent) still had lingering symptoms. And those 136 weren’t only in the older age groups. In fact, in all the age groups between 16 and over 60 years old, between 50 percent and 60 percent of COVID patients reported persistent symptoms.

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One in six (17%) middle-aged people who report being infected by SARS-CoV-2 also report long COVID symptoms, while this falls to one in 13 (7.8%) among younger adults who reported having COVID-19, according to a new study led by UCL and King's College London researchers.

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Now that more than half of U.S. adults have been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, masking and distancing mandates have been re-laxed, and Covid-19 cases and deaths are on the de-cline, there is a palpable sense that life can return to normal. Though most Americans may be able to do so, restoration of normality does not apply to the 10% to 30% of those who are still experiencing debilitating symptoms months after being infected with Covid-19.1 Unfortunately, current numbers and trends indicate that “long-haul Covid” (or “long Covid”) is our next public health disaster in the making.

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Scientists are working to understand the array of lingering symptoms or new health conditions that may start weeks after a COVID-19 infection (sometimes termed long COVID, long-haul COVID, or post-acute COVID-19 syndrome). A huge new study published this week adds to a growing pile of research indicating that it is surprisingly common for people to experience new health problems after a COVID-19 infection. And the results suggest this can happen even among those who had mild-to-moderate or no symptoms during their illness.

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Many children can also experience lingering symptoms after getting COVID-19. But scientists are struggling for answers, so parents are banding together to find treatments and warn others of the risks.

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Since testing positive for COVID on December 10, 2020, 47-year-old Sherry Flynn of Goldsboro, N.C., has been plagued by a long list of ailments, including severe fatigue, blood clots, chronic headaches, rapid heart rate, general body pain, trouble with thinking and remembering, and type 2 diabetes. And she has accumulated a shelf filled with prescription medicines. About two months post-diagnosis, Flynn’s primary care physician referred her to a recently opened facility: the COVID Recovery Clinic at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) School of Medicine. “She said, ‘I can treat you for all your symptoms, but I believe they could maybe find other ways to help you to rehabilitate yourself instead of just putting you on all these medications,’” Flynn says.