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TimesLive reports that the Health Minister’s Covid-19 advisory committee has made its first recommendations about long Covid, but conceded that many questions remained about the condition.
In a memo to Minister Joe Phaahla dated 27 May, committee heads Koleka Mlisana and Marian Jacobs noted that a study of adults hospitalised with Covid-19 found more than two-thirds reported an incomplete recovery three months after their acute illness. Long Covid symptoms had also been detected in up to one-third of patients who had mild infections. They said: “While most symptoms appear to abate over time, the natural history of the condition is not yet known… On average, individuals experiencing long Covid function at 59% of their pre-Covid abilities, and more than 20% of individuals are unable to return to work. Poor quality of life is associated with prior ICU admission and fatigue.” Risk factors for long Covid include advancing age, being biologically female, pre-existing comorbidities (including obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and asthma), and immunodeficiency (including HIV and cancer). Fatigue, breathlessness, cognitive difficulties, muscle and joint pain, headache, persistent cough, chest pain, anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance are common symptoms of long Covid, according to the ministerial advisory committee. However, Mlisana and Jacobs noted: “There are presently no registered or evidence-based therapeutic interventions available for treatment of long Covid.” The experts encouraged patients with long Covid to be vaccinated and to join clinical research programmes “to permit the generation of local data and provide access to emerging therapies”. The committee also suggested long Covid should be recognised as a medical condition by the health department, which should lead the effort to develop evidence-based clinical guidelines for the condition.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at BusinessLive
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