As Covid-19 transmission rates seemingly decline across the European Region, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge expressed health concerns over "long-Covid" or "post-Covid" symptoms at a virtual press conference on 25 February, Thursday.
According to Kluge, a total of 38 million infection cases had been registered in the European Region since the pandemic began, and "one in ten Covid-19 sufferers remain unwell after 12 weeks, and many for much longer", the Xinhua news agency reported.
Professor Martin McKee, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, also speaking at the press conference, provided further insight into "post-Covid" symptoms.
"Although many viral infections are self-limiting, making people feel unwell for only a few days before clearing up, others cause long-term problems. Early on, we realized that this new coronavirus was not just causing pneumonia. In some patients it was attacking many different body systems, such as the heart and blood vessels, the brain, and the kidneys," said McKee.
In addition, Kluge also confirmed that WHO Europe would soon be convening a conference with the chief medical officers of all 53 countries in the European Region to set out a regional strategy to tackle the issue.
The regional director further emphasized the need for the region's medical authorities to seriously "listen and understand" the sufferers of post-Covid conditions, if they intended to tackle it successfully.
(This story was published from a syndicated feed. Only the headline and picture has been edited by FIT).
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