A comprehensive review has revealed nearly half of those who contracted COVID-19 Africa are facing long COVID effects.
What Is Long COVID?
The broad definition of long COVID is symptoms, signs, and continues that go on or develop following an acute COVID-19 infection. This basically means that individuals may experience symptoms of COVID-19f or longer periods than usual. The condition could comprise various continuing health issues, which may last for weeks, months, or even years.
At present, long COVID does not have any cure, though unvaccinated individuals who get infected have higher likelihoods of getting long COVID.
Nevertheless, symptoms of long COVID can be treated to a certain degree. Studies continue to examine how the body is affected by the condition and how the condition can be fought.
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Long COVID in Africa
The review was based on previous analyses and studies. It covered data from 29,213 individuals. The researchers note in the paper that from what they know, their study is the first meta-analysis to look into risk factors, symptomatology, and risk factors of long COVID in Africa.
Across the world, at least 10% of those who got infected are believed to suffer from COVID. There is also research that shows that across several countries, the rates are higher.
However, long COVID incidence rates in Africa exceed all these estimates. The reason behind this remains unclear. In countries of low income, incidence estimates vary because of test access difficulty and hidden infections. For instance, across African countries, earlier estimates range from just 2% in Ghana to 86% in Egypt.
Another possible factor for these higher incidences is that below 51.8% of individuals across Africa have been vaccinated fully. Specific vaccination data status and outcomes of COVID-19 in this region of the world also remain a mystery.
On top of this, a huge chunk of the patients examined in the review were admitted in the intensive care unit. This reveals a bias towards cases that are more severe.
The researchers behind the review desire to have further study so that experts will be able to properly assess long COVID's impact on Africa and so that treatment and support can be provided to those who need it.
The most common neurologic symptom that the researchers found was cognitive impairment, while shortness of breath was found to be the most common respiratory symptom.
On top of this, psychiatric conditions were also found to be common. Around a quarter of those dealing with long COVID reportedly have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The researchers note that the findings are concerning as the additional mental health burden brought by the pandemic and its long-term consequences meet a health system that is widely not ready to address mental health issues.
The severity and symptoms of long COVID may vary from case to case. However, for several individuals, it is quite debilitating. In the review, the team observed that roughly one-fourth of individuals with long COVId reportedly had poor quality of life, frequently citing loss of appetite and fatigue.
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