2024-01-11 07:00:42
The Covid-19 epidemic and the procession of symptoms that can affect patients for several months after infection have brought to the fore l’expression de « Covid long ». Named « affection post-Covid-19 » by the World Health Organization, this notion is now very present in the minds of health professionals and patients. Could this notion also apply to seasonal flu? This is what a new American study published in the journal suggests The Lancet Infectious Disease.
“Covid-long”: a new concept
The Covid-19 epidemic has given rise to the expression “long Covid” or « affection post-Covid-19 » according to the terms of the World Health Organization. Affecting 10 to 30% of people infected with SARS-CoV-2“long Covid” manifests itself by symptoms that persist several months after the acute infection.
To know ! The symptoms of “long Covid” can be fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, muscle or chest pain, etc.
Documented for almost 4 years, this unprecedented notion of “long Covid” is now very present in the minds of healthcare professionals and patients. Especially since at the end of 2022, “long Covid” affected more than two million French people.
However, could this notion also apply to other infections such as seasonal flu? This is what a new American study published in the journal suggests The Lancet Infectious Disease and according to which the seasonal flu epidemic is far from being a harmless infection. American scientists have indeed demonstrated that Patients hospitalized with seasonal flu may also suffer from symptoms lasting several months after infection.
Read also – Long Covid, towards the distinction of several prolonged forms of the disease
Increased risk of long-term health problems
To carry out their work, American scientists compared the medical records of tens of thousands of Covid-19 and flu patients:
81,280 patients hospitalized for Covid-19 between March 2020 and June 2022. 10,985 other patients hospitalized for seasonal flu between October 2015 and February 2019.
After follow-up for 18 months following infection of the patients hospitalized for Covid-19 or for the flu, researchers were able to carry out a comparative analysis risk of death, hospital readmissions and 94 adverse events. They were thus able to make the following observations:
Symptoms that can affect most organs and a risk of death during the study period 50% higher for patients with Covid-19 than for those with seasonal flu. Of the “long flu” symptoms more concentrated in the lungs and respiratory tract.
For the authors of the study, these risks appeared to be greater 30 days or more after the initial infection with Covid-19 or influenza. Patients hospitalized for Covid-19 or for seasonal flu were therefore faced with an increased long-term risk of:
Health problems New hospitalization Death
Regarding the flu, this study shows that symptoms would still persist a year to a year and a half after infection. : tachycardia, chest pain and lung problems with coughing, shortness of breath or lack of blood oxygen.
Read also – Long Covid: fragments of the virus found in the intestines 7 months after infection
Towards better management of “long flu”
For the main author of this study, these results are unprecedented in the sense that never before would the scientific community have imagined the hypothesis of the existence of a long-term flu. The Covid-19 pandemic has therefore allowed researchers to understand that an infection could be the cause of an acute but also chronic illness.
These conclusions therefore encourage vigilance. Because once released from the hospital for Covid-19 or seasonal flu, a patient is not necessarily completely cured and health problems can arise in the long term. Certainly, the symptoms of long-term flu are less strong and less serious than those of long-term Covid, but they are not trivial. Hence the importance of getting the flu vaccination to protect yourself from it!
Read also – Seasonal flu: vaccination open to children aged 2 to 17
Déborah L., Doctor in Pharmacy
Sources
– Like long Covid, long flu exists. www.lequotidiendumedecin.fr. Accessed January 6, 2024.
– Long-term outcomes following hospital admission for COVID-19 versus seasonal influenza: a cohort study. www.thelancet.com. Consulté le 6 janvier 2024.
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