JUST ONE PER CENT OF ‘LONG COVID’ DIAGNOSED

LONG Covid may be going undiagnosed, with only around one in 85 sufferers estimated as having their condition formally recorded.

Researchers who looked at data for 57.9 million patients in England found only 23,273 cases of Long Covid were logged between February 2020 and April 2021.

However, estimates suggest around two million have experienced persistent symptoms – such as breathlessness, fatigue and brain fog – after contracting the virus.

Lead researcher Dr Ben Goldacre of the University of Oxford said: “We were very surprised to see almost a hundred-fold difference in prevalence between population survey estimates and formally recorded diagnoses. Good data on Long Covid will be crucial for research into the prevalence, its causes and consequences, and to plan services effectively.”