Chronic fatigue can be a side effect of overcoming the coronavirus.
Early research suggests that the infection is mild in four out of five cases, most of which make a complete recovery.
However, a relatively small number of survivors seem to come down with the so-called post-COVID syndrome – defined as long-term complications after the virus has been removed from the body.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said an “extraordinary” number of survivors develop symptoms that are “remarkably similar” to chronic fatigue syndrome.
An official survey of 292 people who overcame the infection also found more than a third (35%) lack energy two to three weeks after testing positive.
Actor Tom Hanks, 63, complained about feeling ‘all the time’ very fat ‘when he contracted the infection while filming in Australia in March. The Academy Award winner added, however, that his discomfort was “almost done in two weeks”.
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‘Remarkably similar’ to chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome, also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), generally leaves patients feeling extremely tired and generally unwell.
In severe cases, a patient may not be able to perform day-to-day activities, which may affect their mental health.
At least 260,000 people are said to have chronic fatigue in the UK.
In the US, between 836,000 and 2.5 million Americans were thought to have the condition in 2015, however, most were undiagnosed.
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Although it is not clear what causes chronic fatigue, it can be delayed by viral infections such as glandular fever.
Most patients improve over time, however, some never make a complete recovery.
Post-viral fatigue, feeling exhausted, can theoretically also occur after fighting any virus.
Speaking about the coronavirus, Dr Fauci told Medscape in July: “Even after you delete the virus, there are post-viral symptoms.
‘I know this because I follow a lot of people who call me and talk about their course.
“It’s amazing how many people have a post-viral syndrome that is remarkably similar to myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome.”
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Of the 292 survivors, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examined 274 at least one symptom while infected.
When interviewed two to three weeks after interviews, these patients each reported approximately seven of the 17 symptoms. Thirty-five percent noted unresolved fatigue.
The NHS lists the main signs of infection such as fever, a cough, and a loss of taste such as odor.
The CDC’s definition is quite broad, covering everything from a headache and runny nose to nausea and diarrhea.
Chronic fatigue ‘feels like a living death’
Research has suggested that it may take some time for coronavirus survivors to fully recover.
UK government guidance states that even in mild cases, the recurrence of the infection as a loss of smell or taste “can take several weeks once the infection is gone”.
Early analysis of Chinese data by the World Health Organization found that patients with mild symptoms were generally ‘clinically recovered’ at about two weeks, while those with more serious or critical illness took between three and six weeks to recover on their feet. come.
Research has suggested that people who continue to develop chronic fatigue have elevated levels of two molecules, called interleukin-6 and interleukin-10, that cause inflammation.
These are also higher than normal in severely ill coronavirus patients, suggesting that activation of the immune system may promote inflammation leading to fatigue, wrote Dr Frances Williams of King’s College London in The Conversation.
Calls have been made for greater research into the so-called post-COVID syndrome, with some scientists questioning whether it is a condition in its own right.
One who knows the after-effects of the coronavirus all too well is CNN newsreader Chris Cuomo, who tested positive for the infection on March 31st.
“I can not recover from workouts like I did before,” he told the newspaper.
Many patients with chronic fatigue find that exercise reduces their symptoms, with the NHS advising that physical activity is gradually built up.
Scientists plan to investigate how coronavirus can trigger fatigue, with Dr Ami Mac of the Stanford Genome Technology Center saying the pandemic “gives us an unusual opportunity to improve our understanding of post-viral disease”.
“This one [outbreak] could result in a long-term public health disaster in involuntary numbers of people suffering from a condition that feels like a ‘living death’ for those of us, ‘said Dr Mac, who has chronic fatigue.
