Call for long Covid clinics
WELLINGTON: Clinics for New Zealanders who suffer illhealth months after catching Covid19 are badly needed, experts say, as cases of ‘‘long Covid’’ are expected to soar in the wake of the Delta outbreak.
Long Covid clinics are operating overseas but often cannot meet the large demand.
People referred by their GP are helped by a team of health professionals, including specialists, doctors, occupational therapists and physiotherapists.
Most people with Covid19 recover completely, but some report a wide range of longlasting symptoms.
These can persist for weeks or months, vary from mild to severe and commonly include fatigue, shortness of breath, headaches, ‘‘brain anxiety.
Organs can be damaged, including the heart and lungs.
University of Otago cardiorespiratory physiotherapist Sarah Rhodes said urgent funding for dedicated clinics and treatment pathways was needed, and could not wait the months and years needed for research to catch up.
Researchers and clinicians were already considering how clinics for long Covid could work in New Zealand, she said.
‘‘Because the impacts are across different body systems, it’s highly likely that the most effective clinic is the one that has a multidisciplinary team,’’ Dr Rhodes said.
There is very limited knowledge about how SARSCoV2 infections result in ongoing symptoms, although research fog’’ and is rapidly expanding.
University of Auckland cellular immunologist Anna Brooks is studying the immune dysfunction experienced by New Zealand ‘‘longhaulers’’ and long Covid’s relationship with chronic fatigue syndrome, another poorly understood condition that can happen after viral infection.
‘‘Currently, there are no routine diagnostic tests or treatment options for these postviral chronic conditions, which is why biomedical research is urgently needed,’’ Dr Brooks said.
Some long Covid sufferers overseas had reported improvement after getting a Covid19 vaccine, and her observational research would track some participants after vaccination, she said. — The