At least 10% of people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, have symptoms that last more than four weeks after the infection. With more than 770 million infections to date, this translates to tens of millions of people living with the long-term consequences of COVID, known as “long COVID”.
More than 200 symptoms of long COVID have been studied, with some of the most common being fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive difficulties, such as memory problems or “brain fog”. The condition can be debilitating – many people have to reduce their working hours or are unable to work entirely.
But COVID may not be alone in causing long-lasting symptoms.
