COVID-19: DIAGNOSIS FOR MULTI-ORGAN DAMAGE IN LONGCOVID

It was great to see LongCOVID being debated in Parliament last Thursday.  The Office for National Statistics suggests "one in ten people testing positive for Covid-19 have symptoms that last longer than 12 weeks".  That is across all ages including children.  

In opening the debate, Layla Moran MP who chairs the APPG on CoronaVirus, said "It is believed that there are 300,000 people living with Long Covid already in the UK".

In part this is lethargy that follows any serious illness.  Whilst that can be serious enough, there are other serious problems, including these:

• Long-term damage to the lungs
• Damage to other organs from when the SARS-COV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 gets into the bloodstream
• It causes micro-clotting that can damage organs
• The virus can attack other organs directly
  

This latter problem is because the ACE2 'gateway' that lets the virus into cells on the respiratory system are also present in other parts of the body, including brain, heart and other essential organs.

From CoverScan MD

 

It has been difficult to assess the extent of damage.  But now a software suite driven by a single, quick MRI scan has just been approved by the UK's MRHA. The "CoverScan MD" suite from Perspectum helps identify the extent of damage in "hearts, lungs, livers, as well as other internal organs".

As the number of serious cases of LongCOVID increases, this diagnostic tool will help doctors bring relief to those people young and old who are affected.

 

 

LongCOVID highlights that COVID-19 is not just like flu.  The long-term effects on a substantial proportion of people who catch the disease will need careful consideration in how and when to relax current restrictions, and prioritise vaccines.