Coronavirus and flu infection increases the risk of many diseases, and the damage of these infections reaches its maximum after the acute period. St. This means that seasonal viruses should move from the class of acute diseases to chronic diseases, according to scientists from Washington University in St. Louis. Their research was published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.
The study’s authors examined the medical records of 81,000 patients hospitalized for Covid-19, as well as approximately 11,000 patients hospitalized for seasonal flu. The study covered the activity period of delta and omicron coronavirus variants.
The risk of death in patients who recovered from COVID-19 was 50% higher than in seasonal flu patients. Scientists examined the link between viruses and the increased risk of 94 diseases in all organ systems. COVID-19 infection increased the risk of 64 diseases, while flu increased the risk of six diseases. If the coronavirus affected various organ systems, the flu mainly affected the lungs.
In both COVID-19 and influenza, more than half of the deaths and the development of new disease occurred within a few months of infection, rather than in the acute phase, that is, the first 30 days.
“Before the pandemic, we tended to downplay most viral infections: ‘You’ll get sick and get better in a few days.’ However, we see that this is not true for everyone. Some people experience serious long-term health problems. We need to accept this fact, stop simplifying viral infections and understand that they are important causes of chronic diseases,” explains clinical epidemiologist Ziyad Al-Ali, author of the study.
Vaccination for both COVID-19 and seasonal flu can prevent serious illness and reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. Scientists noted that this is especially important for vulnerable groups of the population: the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
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