"Hello, I have a patient on D45" At the first call from a general practitioner, Professor Benjamin Davido believed in an error. Covid symptoms after 45 days? "Surprising," said the infectious disease specialist, referent on the Covid crisis at the Raymond-Poincaré hospital in Garches (Hauts-de-Seine). "And then after the 4th call, you ask yourself questions ..." Now his phone rings every day. Circumspect doctors almost always tell him the same story: the majority of women, in their forties, suffering from immense fatigue, muscular pain, four to six weeks after the onset of symptoms.
“In general, there is a respite, what is called a honeymoon between the 15th day, date of end of the illness and the 30th day, then it starts again. Like a spool of thread upside down, the signs reappear one by one, testifies the professor. This situation is unheard of! This is why these patients, around 5% of Covid cases, are not always taken seriously. "
More and more white coats are observing this phenomenon, which remains “rare”, they specify. According to Professor Davido, it was mainly people who had, during confinement, a mild form of the coronavirus. Sometimes the test that shows the presence of the virus turns out to be negative and then positive, weeks later. Blood tests reveal nothing. Mystery.
"Post-infectious syndrome"
"In general, it is the inflammation induced by the virus and not the virus itself that is responsible for the reappearance of symptoms. We do not know exactly why, reacts Yazdan Yazdanpanah, the head of infectiology at Bichat hospital in Paris. It is believed to happen in people who have not developed antibodies, perhaps because they are immunocompromised. ” Its name: "post-infectious syndrome".
At the Grenoble University Hospital (Isère), a larger study will last six months, focusing on the aftereffects of Covid. "People are complaining about something, so there is something there, we have to investigate," says Professor Stahl. Maybe it's coronavirus damage to certain organs. ”
Benjamin Davido does not believe it. "Virology tests do not perform well on minor forms, which is why some have not been tested positive." According to him, these mild signs were not sufficient to develop immunity. His main assumption? "It is possible that when people resumed their lives, after confinement, they were again confronted with the virus which is still circulating, consequently the immune system is activated and the symptoms return." Are they still carriers of the infection and contagious? Opinions differ. However, the professor wants to be optimistic: "I think that within three months, they will get better".
