Are there long-term effects of coronavirus infection? Experts are now suspicious.
- Is the corona virus more dangerous than previously thought?
- A doctor now assesses the possible consequences of an infection.
- Here you will find the basic facts about the corona virus and the Corona news from Germany for reading. You can also find current case numbers in Germany as a map. The following recommendations for corona protective measures are currently available.
Berlin - The corona virus makes headlines every day, the number of people infected with the virus continues to increase. While Great Britain and the USA report drastic deaths , the number of people infected with the coronavirus in Germany flattens slightly.
Corona virus in Germany: do infected people have to expect consequences?
But does an infection have to be reckoned with after the infection ? An expert is now concerned that the virus could permanently damage the lungs . It has not yet been possible to assess with certainty whether the virus can actually cause long-term damage.
However, as doctor Sven Brille from the Vivantes Clinic in Neukölln explains, if symptoms are more severe, such as severe lung failure and long ventilation, residual symptoms such as reduced lung volume can be expected.
In contrast, in patients with mild pneumonia, it can be assumed, derived from similar lung diseases, that they do not have to fear any relevant consequences.
Coronavirus: Are there long-term consequences after infection?
Based on initial experience, it can be assumed that the vast majority of patients will be discharged home without noticeable restrictions, said the President of the German Society for Pneumology and Respiratory Medicine (DGP), Michael Pfeifer, the German Press Agency.
So far, however, no reliable information could be provided about possible late effects. For Germany, reliable studies on this topic can only be expected to produce initial results in May. According to data from the Robert Koch Institute , around two percent of people infected in Germany have been diagnosed with pneumonia. Some of them had to be ventilated, even for a long time.
In such cases, the possible consequences of severe courses need not be due to the virus alone, as glasses explained. Mechanical ventilation is also an unavoidable but potentially harmful stimulus to the lung tissue . There were also complications such as bacterial infections during the relatively long time that Covid 19 patients were in the intensive care unit .
Coronavirus: Patients should also be monitored at a later time
Glasses warns that patients should be checked after the illness has been overcome in order to keep an eye on the course. There are currently no binding follow-up recommendations. A uniform standard is necessary, ideally with systematic recording of the results.
Preparations were underway to systematically track recovered patients, said Pfeifer from the DGP. Some of the patients will need rehab treatment after a severe course. Concepts are currently being developed for this.
Corona: Virologist Drosten predicts a long recovery time
Virologist Christian Drosten recently said in the NDR podcast that there was evidence that "it takes patients a long time to recover in their general condition." More than a month after hospital discharge, patients are still generally weakened after severe courses. Lung function also does not seem to be good after surviving a severe infection.
Markus Lanz had a controversial discussion on Maundy Thursday about the actual danger posed by the novel corona virus - with surprising theses.