{"id":3314,"date":"2023-04-18T17:04:20","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T22:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/?p=3314"},"modified":"2023-04-18T17:07:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T22:07:23","slug":"long-covid-like-symptoms-can-happen-after-the-flu-too-heres-how-to-prevent-both","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/2023\/04\/18\/long-covid-like-symptoms-can-happen-after-the-flu-too-heres-how-to-prevent-both\/","title":{"rendered":"Long COVID-like symptoms can happen after the flu, too. Here\u2019s how to prevent both"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fortune<\/a> Flu or COVID, it may not matter\u2014the post-viral illness you potentially wind up with could look pretty similar, according to new research released this week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long COVID<\/a> is a post-viral illness that occurs after infection with COVID. Also known as PASC, or post-acute sequelae of COVID, it\u2019s  typically defined as new symptoms that develop after infection and persist for at least four weeks\u2014often for months, and sometimes for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar post-viral illnesses<\/a> can occur with other viruses, too, like the flu, herpes, Lyme disease\u2014and even Ebola and SARS. Post-viral illnesses often have a chronic fatigue syndrome-like presentation<\/a>, with symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, and post-exertional malaise, in which symptoms get worse after mental or physical activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When looking at the percentage of those infected who develop post-viral illness, as well as the severity of symptoms, post-viral illness from COVID generally isn\u2019t more of a problem than that from flu\u2014in the Omicron era, at least. That\u2019s according to new findings presented this week at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Copenhagen, Denmark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research took place among residents of Queensland, Australia, where more than 90% of the population had been vaccinated before Omicron burst onto the global scene in early 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For 12 weeks, researchers followed nearly 2,200 adults who had been diagnosed with lab-confirmed COVID, and nearly 1,000 adults who had been diagnosed with lab-confirmed flu. Of those who experienced Omicron, a fifth (21%) had ongoing symptoms at 12 weeks, and 4% reported symptoms that had a moderate or severe impact on daily living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it came to those who had experienced the flu, the numbers were almost identical, with 23% reporting ongoing symptoms at 12 weeks, and 4% reporting moderate or severe impacts on daily living. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a reason why long COVID is having an outsized impact on the healthcare system, researchers from Queensland Health said in a news release<\/a>: the sheer volume of COVID infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been more than 11 million lab-confirmed COVID infections over Australia in the last three years, according to the World Health Organization\u2014a number that is likely a massive undercount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By comparison, Australia only recorded only a little more than 225,000 lab-confirmed cases of flu last year.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn our highly vaccinated population, the public health impact of long COVID does not appear to result from any unique property of SARS-CoV-2,\u201d Dr. John Gerrard, Queensland\u2019s chief health officer, said in the release. \u201cRather, the impact results from the sheer number of people infected over a short period of time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long COVID risk factors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, the study noted that those who were members of the following groups were less likely to report moderate or severe functional limitations on their daily lives after Omicron or flu:<\/p>\n\n\n\n