Two years have passed since the emergence of the covid pandemic. With every passing day, fewer people are diagnosed with the infection. The apex of the pyramid has diminished into a flat baseline of cases. Though the number of lingering cases reported has reduced, there's an uprise in underlying illnesses from patients months after receiving treatments. The condition is known as “Long Covid.”

Long covid consists of long-term illnesses after recovering from the initial infection. Even though most people initially infected with covid-19 didn't present with the symptoms. Currently, studies are still ongoing about long covid. There isn't an internationally approved definition or estimate of the term. After working for 2 years in Italy, a pediatric infectious disease doctor, Danilo Buonsenso who works at Gemelli University Hospital, started noticing symptoms in children after months of recovery. The most dominant symptoms amongst them are shortness of breath and recurring fatigue.

The doctor suggests that there might be some form of blood tissue damage, and blood clot may become paramount. According to Dr. Danilo, “In some patients, we have specific areas where no blood flow comes minor, and the flow is reduced. Is that driving their lingering symptoms? I can't say this is the truth, of course. But this makes sense.”

In the US, microbiologist Amy Proal has been making some speculations about the long covid theory. She believes that after the acute infectious phase, after recovery, the virus shrouds itself and keeps hurting the immune system. For her, “Studies have shown that the virus is capable of persistence in a wide range of body sites, especially nerves and other tissues.” The microbiologist recently caught covid for the third time and has been curious ever since.

In Australia, immunologist, Chansavath Phetsouphanh at the University of New South Wales, Sydney is making progress after studying blood samples from patients with long covid. He observed patients whose immune systems had gone south after eight months of contracting the disease.The scientist is currently working to establish an international long covid collaboration to foster more research and extensive resources.

He proposes that the immune cells meant to fight off the diseases have become slightly malleable. “It was a surprise that these cells did not recover,” he says in a public statement. In the UK, the Office for National Statistics estimates about 1.5 million people in the UK have long covid. No one knows what causes long covid, and there isn't a standard test to detect when one has caught long covid.

The ONS estimates about 1.5 million people in the UK have symptoms for more than four weeks. Studies have shown that people who have been vaccinated are still likely to fall victim to long covid. It's because the immune system has started to deteriorate and can no longer handle immense attacks.

Challenges along with investigations

Researchers have stressed that the process of investigations might be impeded due to the high costs of operations and lack of funding. Exploring the causes of long covid takes time and can't be handled by a solo researcher.

It needs a worldwide collaboration to hasten the process. Proving each strain is a bit of a challenge.

 Another challenge is identifying treatment measures. Presently, a clinical trial has begun in the UK to analyze long covid therapies.