The long Covid affects a third of infected Belgians

At least one symptom that is associated with a coronavirus infection continues to manifest at least three months after the initial infection, and this symptom cannot be explained by any other diagnosis. This is what is meant by the term “long covid.”

A follow-up study of infected persons based on a cohort of the Belgian population was initiated by the health institute in April 2021 with the purpose of investigating the phenomena. Following the publication of an initial report in December 2017 that detailed the findings of a follow-up examination conducted three months after infection, the Institute was able to gather the follow-up information required six months after infection. These findings provide more evidence that the issue is not going away: thirty to thirty-five percent of infected patients still suffer from at least one symptom six months after testing positive for the infection. A sizeable number, but one that is expected to decline with time given that three months after infection, approximately half of all infected patients had at least one symptom of the virus.

On the other hand, despite the fact that extended covid have a tendency to reduce with time, the effect on everyday life tends to increase for those in whom it continues to persist. 22 percent of persons with extended covid are found to have depression problems after a period of six months. They only had an 18% chance of suffering from it after three months, which demonstrates the adverse progression of the condition on mental health, as Pierre Smith, the person in charge of the research, says.