Prolonged flu and the risk of chronic diseases such as Long Covid

The cases are those of those who were hospitalized due to the flu, but the data appears very significant, since we know that the experience with Covid-19 has already exposed some of the infected to a strong risk of chronic disease for a long time , mainly associated with the lungs.

New data emerged from research conducted by epidemiologists at Washington University in Saint Louis on patients affected by the influenza virus have highlighted that there is a greater risk of long-term health problems, similar to those seen with Long Covid.

While the symptoms associated with this Long Flu appear to be more concentrated in the lungs than current ongoing Covid symptoms, in both cases the risk of death and disability was higher in the months following infection compared to the first 30 days .

“It’s very clear that Long Flu is worse than the flu, and Long Covid is worse than Covid,” Dr. said Ziyad Al-Alythe epidemiologist at Washington University in St Louis who led the research and who was motivated to study this new phenomenon after observing the extent of long-term illness experienced by people who have recovered from Covid.

“Five years ago it would not have occurred to me to examine the possibility of a Long Flu,” said the expert, as reported The Guardian. “But one of the most important lessons we have learned from this pandemic is that a virus that we all initially thought could only cause acute illness has spread to millions of people in the form of Long Covid,” he said. «We wondered if this could also happen with other viruses. For example, with the flu.”

Long Flu and Long Covid: affinities and differences

To investigate, Al-Aly and colleagues analyzed the medical records of 81,280 US patients hospitalized with Covid And 10,985 hospitalized with seasonal flu, following them for at least 18 months to learn their risks of death, hospital readmission and 94 different health problems. Problems involving the body’s major organ systems.

The research, published on Lancet Infectious Diseasesfound that while Covid patients faced a higher risk of death or readmission to hospital over the next 18 months, both infections carried a significant risk of ongoing disability and disease. In both cases, more than half of the deaths and disabilities occurred in the months following infection compared to the first 30 days. And while symptoms associated with prolonged flu were more likely to focus on the lungs – for example shortness of breath or cough – than Covid patients, both groups were at greater risk of fatigue, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and neurological problems, and symptoms associated with other devices in the following months.

High risk of chronic diseases

«Many people think they have overcome Covid-19 or the flu after being discharged from hospital. This may be true for some people. But our research shows that both viruses can cause chronic disease», said Al-Aly. “Conceptualising these diseases as acute diseases is really only looking at the tip of the iceberg and eclipsing the much higher toll of adverse health outcomes that occur in the post-acute phase,” the epidemiologist stressed. «Some people end up having serious long-term health problems. We must realize this reality and stop trivializing viral infections and understand that they are the main causes of chronic diseases».

The study wasn’t designed to identify what proportion of people hospitalized with flu will develop additional health problems, or whether certain groups are at higher risk, but that’s what the team hopes to investigate in the coming months. Furthermore The extent to which people who contract the flu but are not hospitalized also develop persistent health problems is unclear. For the moment, Al-Aly stated that the most important thing is to try to reduce the risk of hospitalization for these diseases, through vaccination and, in the case of Covid, antiviral drugs.

Influenza viruses, a “threat” not to be underestimated

In a recent interview given to Vanity Faireven the scientist Alessandro Vespignani, one of the world’s leading experts in epidemiological models and forecasting science – who with his team played a significant role in identifying the Covid-19 pandemic – had reiterated the importance of not underestimating influenza viruses. «The entire international scientific community is constantly busy monitoring viruses: there is a control system that tries to identify what appear to be anomalous cases compared to what fits into a normal pattern. There is always a special perspective for influenza viruses because, generally, the jump in species comes from these”, he explained. Then adding: «Generally speaking, I believe that any person in my field, if they were to bet on the next pandemic, would think of a flu virus although we have learned that i coronavirus, in particular, are a major threat. Let’s not forget that the most frequent pandemics are those generated by influenza viruses, which, in some cases, can be less dramatic than what we have experienced, but in other cases – think of the 1918 pandemic – can instead be brutal. The problem of the next pandemic, ultimately, is not “if” but “when” it will be. Because we know that unfortunately there will be others, although we hope as far away as possible and with a reduced threat.”