‘Long flu’: study finds flu patients at higher risk of longer-term illness

Symptoms associated with long flu were more likely to centre on the lungs, the study found. Photograph: Getty Images

People who have been hospitalised with flu are at an increased risk of longer-term health problems, similar to those with long Covid, data suggests.

While the symptoms associated with such “long flu” appear to be more focused on the lungs than ongoing Covid symptoms, in both cases the risk of death and disability was greater in the months after infection than in the first 30 days.