Covid-19, the emergency is over but the consequences of the disease are not, here are the latest findings

For some time, researchers have emphasized the consequences of the disease triggered by Covid-19. An emergency is over but another could come.

We would all like leave Covid behind and to think that the terrible disease has been defeated, even if it is still present. Unfortunately Scientists have long understood that there are long-lasting side effectsand the numbers of a study illustrate the worrying forecasts.

Maybe someone will remember how one of the symptoms of Covid was thesudden lack of taste and / or smell. This detail also served at the beginning of the pandemic to better recognize the disease, similar in other respects to a strong flu.

Then when the variantssomehow the side effects under the senses decreased. In fact, the guidelines of the Ministry of Health stated that the main symptoms of Omicron and others were more attributable to sore throat and / or joint pain.

In the meantime, however, Researchers around the world have continued to study the effects of the virus on people. Which can also occur for a long time after healing. In particular, people who suffered from a lack of smell and taste were examined. And the data doesn’t tell us anything good.

Covid-19, the emergency is over but the consequences of the disease are not, here are the latest findings

We have been talking about for a long time “Long covid”, or those clinical manifestations that occur even after being cured of the disease. Among the various observations, the one on the effects of Covid on the smell and hearing stands out.

And team of experts of the National University of Singapore ha collected data from 18 studies drafted worldwide, concerning nearly 4 thousand patients. Il British Medical Journal he then published the study.

According to the researchersDozens of million of people they could meet semi-permanent or permanent damage to hearing and / or smell. This was deduced from the feedback of the data recorded during the pandemic and in the following years.

Here’s how they were calculated the changes in the olfactory system and in taste. Scholars stated that “they are very prevalent in patients with Covid-19. Globally 40-50% of people on average report these symptoms and up to 98% show clinically proven olfactory dysfunction“.

After 30 days of infection initial, according to the data only 74% of subjects reported having recovered the olfactory functions while 79% those of taste.

After 6 months it seems that things are improve even moreand the numbers indicate recovery peaks even up to 98%. Women seem to have found it more difficult to regain full sensory abilities.

Long covid damage, what are the forecasts of the experts

Ma what worries the team of researchers is a double “danger”. First of all, the percentages of recovery derive from “self-declaration of healing”. Therefore it is possible that the subjects do not have the ability to really understand their state of health. The risk is that the problem is wider than it seems. And considering the number of infected, what arises is worrying.

In the face of at least 500 million cases worldwidecirca 27 million people could develop impairments of smell and hearing. This translates into a medical and social hardship that must be carefully evaluated by the institution in charge.

Indeed, there is a risk of a new “emergency” of people with disabilities, with all the resulting social costs. And above all, according to experts, concrete actions are needed to adopt specific programs. It is necessary prepare the medical sector to respond to these new health needs.