Long Covid - 'I Don't Think Govts Are Taking It Seriously Enough'

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Their findings revealed that almost half of the people studied exhibited Long Covid symptoms, and the most common reason they sought medical help was the most debilitating symptom - fatigue. This crucial information points to the extent of the burden of Covid-19 on Africa and the world did not end with millions of deaths from this novel coronavirus. It is not over. African governments now face treating about 12 million citizens who recovered from the virus but may have ongoing symptoms such as persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches, concentration difficulties, and muscle pain. allAfrica's Juanita Williams sat down with Professor Resia Pretorius, Stellenbosch University, who's been researching how blood clots form and the impact of inflammation for two decades.  Pretorius has been at the forefront of acute Covid-19 and Long Covid research since 2022 when the professor and her team first identified inflammatory microclots in blood samples from individuals who contracted Covid-19. Their symptoms persisted for months and, in some cases, even years. Part 1 of Prof Pretorius interview Part 2 of Prof Pretorius interview"> <meta itemprop="image" content="https://cdn04.allafrica.com/download/pic/main/main/csiid/00660457:0b7c6eb1971abf489026b36a78b629b5:arc614x376:w1200.png"> <meta itemprop="name" content="Long Covid - 'I Don't Think Govts Are Taking It Seriously Enough'"> <meta name="description" content="The 2023 Nature study, possibly the first statistical combination of results from separate studies "exploring prevalence, risk factors and symptomatology of long COVID in Africa", included 25 studies, more than a thousand papers, and 29 213 patients. Their findings revealed that almost half of the people studied exhibited Long Covid symptoms, and the most common reason they sought medical help was the most debilitating symptom - fatigue. This crucial information points to the extent of the burden of Covid-19 on Africa and the world did not end with millions of deaths from this novel coronavirus. It is not over. African governments now face treating about 12 million citizens who recovered from the virus but may have ongoing symptoms such as persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches, concentration difficulties, and muscle pain. allAfrica's Juanita Williams sat down with Professor Resia Pretorius, Stellenbosch University, who's been researching how blood clots form and the impact of inflammation for two decades.  Pretorius has been at the forefront of acute Covid-19 and Long Covid research since 2022 when the professor and her team first identified inflammatory microclots in blood samples from individuals who contracted Covid-19. Their symptoms persisted for months and, in some cases, even years. Part 1 of Prof Pretorius interview Part 2 of Prof Pretorius interview"> <meta name="facebook-domain-verification" content="3xuju9s7i37gmaj9exdgd1abrykiyb"> <meta name="google-site-verification" content="bGxG4qeN9up-gMXKjsgylykqjVrzxLjg1rQrP3K-rJk"> <meta name="keywords" content="Africa, news, politics, economy, trade, business, sports, current events, travel, Health and Medicine, Coronavirus, Africa"> <meta name="msvalidate.01" content="72401C28AAAC95E8D3FF1881A90F2C4D"> <meta name="robots" content="noarchive"> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image"> <meta name="twitter:description" content="The 2023 Nature study, possibly the first statistical combination of results from separate studies "exploring prevalence, risk factors and symptomatology of long COVID in Africa", included 25 studies, more than a thousand papers, and 29 213 patients. Their findings revealed that almost half of the people studied exhibited Long Covid symptoms, and the most common reason they sought medical help was the most debilitating symptom - fatigue. This crucial information points to the extent of the burden of Covid-19 on Africa and the world did not end with millions of deaths from this novel coronavirus. It is not over. African governments now face treating about 12 million citizens who recovered from the virus but may have ongoing symptoms such as persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches, concentration difficulties, and muscle pain. allAfrica's Juanita Williams sat down with Professor Resia Pretorius, Stellenbosch University, who's been researching how blood clots form and the impact of inflammation for two decades.  Pretorius has been at the forefront of acute Covid-19 and Long Covid research since 2022 when the professor and her team first identified inflammatory microclots in blood samples from individuals who contracted Covid-19. Their symptoms persisted for months and, in some cases, even years. Part 1 of Prof Pretorius interview Part 2 of Prof Pretorius interview"> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://cdn04.allafrica.com/download/pic/main/main/csiid/00660457:0b7c6eb1971abf489026b36a78b629b5:arc614x376:w1200.png"> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@allafrica"> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Long Covid - 'I Don't Think Govts Are Taking It Seriously Enough'"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2024-11-19T10:38:30+0000"> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-11-04T15:00:10+0000"> <meta property="article:publisher" content="https://www.facebook.com/allafrica"> <meta property="article:section" content="inFocus"> <meta property="article:tag" content="Health and Medicine"> <meta property="article:tag" content="Coronavirus"> <meta property="article:tag" content="Africa"> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="100369188719"> <meta property="fb:pages" content="98946450029"> <meta property="og:description" content="The 2023 Nature study, possibly the first statistical combination of results from separate studies &quot;exploring prevalence, risk factors and symptomatology of long COVID in Africa&quot;, included 25 studies, more than a thousand papers, and 29 213 patients. Their findings revealed that almost half of the people studied exhibited Long Covid symptoms, and the most common reason they sought medical help was the most debilitating symptom - fatigue. This crucial information points to the extent of the burden of Covid-19 on Africa and the world did not end with millions of deaths from this novel coronavirus. It is not over. African governments now face treating about 12 million citizens who recovered from the virus but may have ongoing symptoms such as persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches, concentration difficulties, and muscle pain. allAfrica's Juanita Williams sat down with Professor Resia Pretorius, Stellenbosch University, who's been researching how blood clots form and the impact of inflammation for two decades.  Pretorius has been at the forefront of acute Covid-19 and Long Covid research since 2022 when the professor and her team first identified inflammatory microclots in blood samples from individuals who contracted Covid-19. Their symptoms persisted for months and, in some cases, even years. 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style="width: auto; margin-bottom: 20px"> <h1>Long Covid - 'I Don't Think Govts Are Taking It Seriously Enough'</h1>  <div class="sharebar solid top a2a_kit a2a_default_style uninitialized" data-a2a-title='Long Covid - 'I Don't Think Govts Are Taking It Seriously Enough'' data-a2a-url='https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00090893.html'> <a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a> <a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a> <a class="a2a_button_whatsapp"></a> <a class="a2a_button_flipboard"></a> <a class="a2a_button_linkedin"></a> <a class="a2a_button_reddit"></a> <a class="a2a_button_email"></a> <a class="a2a_dd" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share"></a> </div>  <style> @media print{body.aans.view .column.main .sharebar.solid{display:none !important;}}.sharebar.solid{margin:8px 15px;min-height:calc( 24px + ( 2 * 4px ) );}.sharebar.solid a{margin:4px 0;}@media screen and ( min-width: 768px ){.sharebar.solid{margin:12px 15px;min-height:calc( 32px + ( 2 * 7px ) );}.sharebar.solid a{margin:7px 0;}} </style> <p>The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-48258-3" target="_blank">2023 Nature study</a>, possibly the first statistical combination of results from separate studies "exploring prevalence, risk factors and symptomatology of long COVID in Africa", included 25 studies, more than a thousand papers, and 29 213 patients.</p> <p>Their findings revealed that almost half of the people studied exhibited Long Covid symptoms, and the most common reason they sought medical help was the most debilitating symptom - fatigue.</p> <p>This crucial information points to the extent of the burden of Covid-19 on Africa and the world did not end with millions of deaths from this novel coronavirus.</p> <p>It is not over.</p> <p>African governments now face treating about 12 million citizens who recovered from the virus but may have ongoing symptoms such as persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches, concentration difficulties, and muscle pain.</p> <p><em>allAfrica</em>'s <strong>Juanita Williams</strong> sat down with <strong>Professor Resia Pretorius</strong>, Stellenbosch University, who's been researching how blood clots form and the impact of inflammation for two decades. </p> <p>Pretorius has been at the forefront of acute Covid-19 and Long Covid research since <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202207280456.html" target="_blank">2022</a> when the professor and her team first identified inflammatory microclots in blood samples from individuals who contracted <a href="https://allafrica.com/coronavirus/" target="_blank">Covid-19</a>. Their symptoms persisted for months and, in some cases, even years.</p> <p><a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202411010303.html" target="_blank">Part 1 of Prof Pretorius interview</a></p> <p><a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202411180477.html" target="_blank">Part 2 of Prof Pretorius interview</a></p> </div> <div class="section topic-stories"> <div class="content"> <ul class="stories"> <li class="first"> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">Africa:</span>  <a title="Long Covid - 'I Don't Think Govts Are Taking It Seriously Enough' - Prof Resia Pretorius" href="/stories/202411180477.html">Long Covid - 'I Don't Think Govts Are Taking It Seriously Enough' - Prof Resia Pretorius </a> </p> <p class="source">allAfrica, 18 November 2024</p> <p class="summary">In Part 1 of the interview Juanita Williams from allAfrica had with Professor Resia Pretorius from Stellenbosch University, Pretorius spoke about her extensive research on blood… <a href="/stories/202411180477.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> <li class=""> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">Africa:</span>  <a title="'No, Long Covid is Not a Thing in Your Head, You're Sick'" href="/stories/202411010303.html">'No, Long Covid is Not a Thing in Your Head, You're Sick' </a> </p> <p class="source">allAfrica, 1 November 2024</p> <div class="figure"> <a href="/stories/202411010303.html" title="'No, Long Covid is Not a Thing in Your Head, You're Sick'"> <picture> <img src="https://cdn08.allafrica.com/download/pic/main/main/csiid/00660444:88e4754febb5bcda7be2e9076423def2:arc614x376:w400:us1.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="245"/> </picture> </a> </div> <p class="summary">allAfrica's Juanita Williams sat down with Professor Resia Pretorius, Stellenbosch University, who's been researching how blood clots form and the impact of inflammation for… <a href="/stories/202411010303.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> <li class=""> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">Nigeria:</span>  <a title="Nigerians Suffering Neurological Impact of Covid-19 Two Years After - Study" href="/stories/202410310225.html">Nigerians Suffering Neurological Impact of Covid-19 Two Years After - Study </a> </p> <p class="source">Vanguard, 31 October 2024</p> <p class="summary">Several individuals in Nigeria are experiencing neurological manifestations of neuro-long COVID such as brain fog, mild cognitive impairment, fatigue, sleep problems, headache,… <a href="/stories/202410310225.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> <li class=""> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">Africa:</span>  <a title="Long Covid Puzzle Pieces Are Falling Into Place - the Picture Is Unsettling" href="/stories/202407190165.html">Long Covid Puzzle Pieces Are Falling Into Place - the Picture Is Unsettling </a> </p> <p class="source">The Conversation Africa, 18 July 2024</p> <p class="summary">Since 2020, the condition known as long COVID-19 has become a widespread disability affecting the health and quality of life of millions of people across the globe and costing… <a href="/stories/202407190165.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> <li class=""> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">Africa:</span>  <a title="Nearly Half of COVID-19 Survivors in Africa Experiencing Long COVID Symptoms, Study Suggests" href="/stories/202403280037.html">Nearly Half of COVID-19 Survivors in Africa Experiencing Long COVID Symptoms, Study Suggests </a> </p> <p class="source">GAVI, 8 December 2023</p> <p class="summary">Almost half of COVID-19 survivors in African countries are reporting at least one ongoing symptom that cannot be explained by other medical conditions, data suggests. <a href="/stories/202403280037.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> <li class=""> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">Africa:</span>  <a title="Success in Treating Persistent Pain Now Offers Hope for Those With Long Covid" href="/stories/202406260203.html">Success in Treating Persistent Pain Now Offers Hope for Those With Long Covid </a> </p> <p class="source">The Conversation Africa, 25 June 2024</p> <p class="summary">The emergence of Long COVID as a mysterious new illness has refocused attention on the incapacitating nature of persistent fatigue. <a href="/stories/202406260203.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> <li class=""> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">Africa:</span>  <a title="Long Covid - Effects On Fatigue and Quality of Life Can Be Comparable to Some Cancers - New Research" href="/stories/202306130076.html">Long Covid - Effects On Fatigue and Quality of Life Can Be Comparable to Some Cancers - New Research </a> </p> <p class="source">The Conversation Africa, 12 June 2023</p> <p class="summary">As of March 2023, the Office for National Statistics estimated that 1.7 million people in the UK were living with self-reported long COVID. This refers to symptoms, including… <a href="/stories/202306130076.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> <li class=""> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">South Africa:</span>  <a title="Long Covid - What We Know About How the Condition Affects Mental Health" href="/stories/202303160501.html">Long Covid - What We Know About How the Condition Affects Mental Health </a> </p> <p class="source">The Conversation Africa, 16 March 2023</p> <p class="summary">Many people have persistent symptoms after recovering from COVID, a condition termed "long COVID". The UK's Office for National Statistics estimates 1.8 million people in the UK… <a href="/stories/202303160501.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> <li class=""> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">Africa:</span>  <a title="I Have Covid. How Likely Am I to Get Long Covid?" href="/stories/202312230115.html">I Have Covid. How Likely Am I to Get Long Covid? </a> </p> <p class="source">The Conversation Africa, 21 December 2023</p> <div class="figure"> <a href="/stories/202312230115.html" title="I Have Covid. How Likely Am I to Get Long Covid?"> <picture> <img src="https://cdn03.allafrica.com/download/pic/main/main/csiid/00611118:45cd4a28f9c4b07927c606d55235ac51:arc614x376:w400:us1.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="245"/> </picture> </a> </div> <p class="summary">EG.5 or the Eris COVID variant is dominant in parts of Australia. Eris, along with other circulating strains, are descendants of Omicron. <a href="/stories/202312230115.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> <li class=""> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">Africa:</span>  <a title="Long Covid - Damaged Mitochondria in Muscles Might Be Linked to Some of the Symptoms" href="/stories/202401120059.html">Long Covid - Damaged Mitochondria in Muscles Might Be Linked to Some of the Symptoms </a> </p> <p class="source">The Conversation Africa, 11 January 2024</p> <div class="figure"> <a href="/stories/202401120059.html" title="Long Covid - Damaged Mitochondria in Muscles Might Be Linked to Some of the Symptoms"> <picture> <img src="https://cdn08.allafrica.com/download/pic/main/main/csiid/00600909:b897e377024831d64b7ceca0a4c1b775:arc614x376:w400:us1.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="245"/> </picture> </a> </div> <p class="summary">It's estimated around 3% of people in the UK experience long COVID - persistent, long-lasting symptoms after a COVID-19 infection. <a href="/stories/202401120059.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> <li class="last"> <p class="title"><span class="country-slug">South Africa:</span>  <a title="Still Many Unknowns, but Long-Covid Is Real and Deserves Support for Rehabilitation, Says Expert" href="/stories/202211170198.html">Still Many Unknowns, but Long-Covid Is Real and Deserves Support for Rehabilitation, Says Expert </a> </p> <p class="source">spotlight, 17 November 2022</p> <p class="summary">"I think I'm in trouble," came the message through to Professor Veronica Ueckermann one evening during the first surge of COVID-19 in South Africa in the winter of 2020. It was a… <a href="/stories/202211170198.html">Read more »</a></p> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="section featured-story"> <div class="content"> <img src="https://cdn04.allafrica.com/download/pic/main/main/csiid/00660457:0b7c6eb1971abf489026b36a78b629b5:arc614x376:w614:us1.png" width="614" height="376"/> <div class="figcaption"><a href="https://www.midjourney.com/">Image generated by Juanita Williams using Midjourney</a></div> <p>The 2023 Nature study, possibly the first statistical combination of results from separate studies "exploring prevalence, risk factors and symptomatology of long COVID in Africa", included 25 studies, more than a thousand papers, and 29 213 patients. Their findings revealed that almost half of the people studied exhibited Long Covid symptoms, and the most common reason they sought medical help was the most debilitating symptom - fatigue. This crucial information points to the extent of the burden of Covid-19 on Africa and the world did not end with millions of deaths from this novel coronavirus. It is not over. African governments now face treating about 12 million citizens who recovered from the virus but may have ongoing symptoms such as persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches, concentration difficulties, and muscle pain. These symptoms often last for months and can severely impact daily functioning and quality of life. Many individuals are unable to work, leading to income loss and increased healthcare costs - straining the already overburdened healthcare systems in many countries. And those statistics do not include people who have Covid-19 right now – acute cases or those without symptoms – who may later exhibit symptoms of Long Covid.</p> </div> </div> <div class="section topical-focus"> <h1>InFocus</h1> <div class="content"> <ul class="features"> <li> <div class="feature"> <div class="top-story"> <h2><a href="https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00083272.html">Experts Discuss Long Covid Risks and What Remains to be Learned</a></h2> </div> <div class="figure"> <a href="https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00083272.html" title="Experts Discuss Long Covid Risks and What Remains to be Learned"> <picture> <source media="(min-width: 320px)" srcset="https://cdn02.allafrica.com/download/pic/main/main/csiid/00590081:27195c4cccc4ed0aee32fff12e87d5f8:arc180x120:w400:us1.jpg"> <img src="https://cdn02.allafrica.com/download/pic/main/main/csiid/00590081:27195c4cccc4ed0aee32fff12e87d5f8:arc180x120:w400:us1.jpg" alt="A colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (blue) infected with a variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (UK B.1.1.7; purple). (file photo)." width="180" height="120"/> </picture> </a> </div> <p>Much has been said about the long-term effects of Covid-19 on people who contracted the virus, but whose symptoms continue to persist long after the initial infection has passed. ... <a href="https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00083272.html">Read more »</a></p> <div class="related-stories"> <ul class="stories"> <li> <span class="location">Africa:</span> <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202209020419.html" class="headline">Experts Discuss Long Covid Risks and What Remains to be Learned</a> </li> <li> <span class="location">Africa:</span> <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/202209020024.html" class="headline">100 Million People With Long Covid Is a Crisis We Must Address</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-tn-12 col-sm-4 column aside flexible"> <div id="right-top-anchor" class="top-anchor"> <div id="right-a-container" class="outer-ad-container 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