[deleted] t1_j4jrm2r wrote on January 16, 2023 at 5:01 AM

What I’m not sure about long Covid is whether or not it meaningfully differentiates in quantity or severity from chronic post-viral illness caused by other viral infections. Have there been studies on that? I’m not a skeptic or anything and I realize long Covid is real and manifests in all kinds of unpleasant ways but I’m wondering how it compares to post-flu chronic symptoms like cough or fatigue or stomach issues.

ajaxsinger t1_j4n3svg wrote on January 16, 2023 at 9:52 PM

I had (have) a post-viral sequelae from a swine-flu infection in 2010, so I'm very aware of the possibility of a post-viral syndrome from other viral infections and I've wondered the same.

I think the biggest difference is the sheer number of infections. Even if COVID causes no greater percentage of sequelae, 10% of COVID infections is orders of magnitude greater than 10% of influenza infections.

[deleted] t1_j4n3yzi wrote on January 16, 2023 at 9:53 PM

That’s a good point. I had a post viral illness from the flu in 2017 that lingered for at least six or seven months. It sucked. I imagine the scale of infections here are a big contributor.