WorkingAndNotWorkingWithLongCovid

1/ We will add here links to resources for workers and stakeholders on #WorkingWithLongCovid some we were involved in. These are mainly U.K. but some have transferability to other countries. Please share and tag us to other resources 🐝 #LongCovid

Persistent Viral Reservoirs in Post-COVID Patients: Current Evidence and Clinical Implications 🚨Viral persistence isn't fringe theory anymore! ➡️This INTERESTING Korean review article examines the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 persists in human tissues beyond acute infection, contributing to long COVID (PASC). Authors synthesize evidence in detail from studies showing viral RNA and proteins (especially spike) detectable in organs like lungs, heart, brain, gut, and kidneys, as well as in immune cells (e.g, monocytes, macrophages) and body fluids (stool, saliva, urine), sometimes up to 15 months post-infection. ➡️Their short Long COVID Overview: - Long COVID (PASC) features persistent or recurring symptoms (fatigue, brain fog, dyspnea, myalgia, cognitive issues) ≥4–12 weeks post-acute infection, lasting up to at least 24 months. - ~17% of cases show no recovery and ~18% remain partially symptomatic at 24 months. - Pathophysiology is heterogeneous and incompletely understood - Viral persistence is one leading hypothesis, ➡️ Found evidence of SARS-CoV-2 persistence: - Viral RNA and/or proteins (especially spike) detected in multiple organs/tissues post-acute phase: lungs (alveolar macrophages), heart (myocardial cells), brain (neural tissues), gut (intestinal epithelium), kidneys. - Persistence in immune cells: monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, T cells (via phagocytosis, restricted infection, or antigen retention). - Detection in body fluids: prolonged RNA in stool, saliva, urine (weeks to months post-onset). - Duration: signals observed weeks to months (some studies up to 15+ months) - Infectious virus rarely isolated post-acute phase. - Methods: RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, electron microscopy but rarely confirms replication-competent virus, ➡️ Mechanisms of viral persistence and immune effects: - No classical latency (unlike herpesviruses). It involves incomplete clearance, abortive/restricted infection, antigen retention in long-lived cells (e.g, macrophages, microglia). - Immune evasion: interferon signalling inhibition, suppressed antigen presentation. - Persistent signals activate innate pathways (TLR3/7/8, RIG-I/MDA5), triggering NF-κB/IRF cascades → sustained cytokine production (IL-6, TNF-α), chronic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction. - Spike protein persistence may drive autoantibody formation, molecular mimicry, epitope spreading, and autoimmune-like responses, ➡️ Clinical implications and symptom links: - Persistent viral elements plausibly sustain multi-system inflammation, contributing to fatigue, brain fog, dyspnea, myalgia, cognitive dysfunction, cardiovascular/GI/renal issues. - Brain: neuroinflammation linked to headaches, mood/cognitive changes. - Gut/heart/kidney: associated with GI symptoms, myocardial inflammation, renal dysfunction. - Vascular: endothelial spike presence → microvascular abnormalities, chest pain, tachycardia. - Causal link to symptoms remains associative, not definitively proven, ➡️Risk factors: - Increased risk with age, sex, comorbidities (diabetes, obesity, immunosuppression), high acute viral load, lack of vaccination. - Immune features: impaired interferon responses, pre-existing autoreactivity, high ACE2/TMPRSS2 expression in tissues, ➡️Possible therapeutic approaches: - No approved disease modifying treatments, current care is symptomatic. - Investigational: extended antivirals (e.g., nirmatrelvir/ritonavir/Paxlovid up to 25 days in trials like RECOVER-VITAL), monoclonal antibodies. - Immunomodulatory: corticosteroids, JAK inhibitors, IL-6/TNF biologics to target inflammation. - Emerging: mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) for repair and anti-inflammation (ongoing trials, e.g, NCT04992247). - Emphasis on personalized, multi-modal strategies based on symptom profiles, ➡️Conclusions and limitations: - Strong evidence of persistent RNA/protein signals in tissues/cells, linked to inflammation and long COVID heterogeneity. - Distinguishing non-replicating remnants from active infection remains challenging, causation unproven. - Future needs: biomarkers, longitudinal studies, advanced assays (single-cell transcriptomics, negative-strand RNA), targeted trials. ‼️Persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA and proteins are clearly detectable long after acute infection and plausibly drive chronic inflammation underlying long COVID, yet they do not prove ongoing replication or definitive causation, leaving effective eradication therapies out of reach and patients without validated cures. ‼️Reinfections receive essentially zero attention in this review, underscoring that viral persistence theories for long COVID remain overwhelmingly ffocused around unresolved remnants from the first infection, with any potential role of repeat infections left virtually unexplored here! ‼️So, in a field still lacking consensus on long COVID's root causes, this review critically elevates viral persistence from speculative hypothesis to a biologically plausible, and potentially treatable, core driver, yet its ultimate proof and therapeutic translation remain frustratingly elusive, leaving millions without targeted relief. #AvoidSars2 #AvoidReinfections mdpi.com/2673-8112/6/3/…

This is how we mobilise leaders in responsible #business and #finance 🚀🚀 @ShareAction are joining our leading #bioscience professors + #clinicians from the globe, to sign our letter to the UN to ask for the protection of people like we protect the environment. Join us! 👇👇

Dr Amir said: "Long Covid is a really poorly understood condition, and it's a multi-system complex issue,and it will affect everyone differently. You know, everyone has a different version of long Covid because it is so multisystem, it is so inflammatory" archive.md/VspFK

#PIP #DWP PIP and work linked in appalling Timms review public consultation benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/pip-and-w…

Mid Jan. '20, I fell ill, & thought it was a 48 hour thing. It's now been 54,000 hours of Long Covid. My oncologist said my broken immune system lead to or exacerbated my stage IV cancer now in my bones. Last night, my shoulder, pelvis and ribs hurt. #longcovidawareness

Here we go (again). A short🧵

@DHSCgovuk @wesstreeting @UniKent @NHSEngland @UKHSA The following websites all state that meningococcus bacteria can spread via AEROSOL transmission (links in thread below ⬇️) ▪️UK Green Book ▪️WHO ▪️NICE ▪️ECDC What learnings are you taking from the Covid Inquiry about protecting against ALL plausible routes of transmission?

A tribunal has ordered the Department for Work and Pensions to release a report that describes the impact of its errors on disabled benefit claimants, following a three-year fight to keep the document secret. #DWP disabilitynewsservice.com/tribunal-dismi…

The PIP review consultation is now live, but what are they actually asking? I’ve broken it down in plain English so you can understand the key areas without wading through pages of policy language. This isn’t a quick survey. It’s detailed, and it matters. You can respond yourself, or feed your experience into charities and Disabled People’s Organisations who are submitting evidence. I’ve been working on this for months through the MS Society and wider DPO/charity work, so this is about making it easier for you to engage in a way that works. Watch to the end for how to access the consultation. #PIP #PIPReview #DisabilityRights #HaveYourSay #MSAwareness #DisabledVoices

In response to a question from @ZackPolanski on #LongCovid, @DrAmirKhanGP says “I feel really helpless when I see them.” People who were healthy just a few years ago, a lot of them have lost their independence and ability to earn and there’s nothing in place to look after them.

Aaarrrghh! The cover-up begins… The WHO page about Meningococcal Meningitis & its modes of transmission (including the word ‘AEROSOL’) has just been removed from their website. Original link: who.int/teams/health-p… Thankfully there’s an archived page: web.archive.org/web/2026012701…

Great summary of many of the key points from yesterday’s covid inquiry report by @LongCovidAdvoc Our team is running on empty today. So grateful for you summarising so well.

#CovidInquiry isn't in the past @wesstreeting @Keir_Starmer @SharonHodgsonMP @DHSCgovuk it's the present. NHS workers and patients are still exposed to Covid-19 daily in hospitals now without the correct (or any) Personal Protective Equipment They need FFP masks, not baggy blue👇

5/ Healthcare workers have been significantly affected. Many became ill while caring for others — with lasting impacts on their health and ability to work.

Long Covid groups say its findings validate the experiences of millions living with #LongCovid. However, they emphasise that many of the systemic issues identified in the early stages of the pandemic remain unresolved 6 years on, leaving many patients without the care they need.

Press release Long Covid groups are urging urgent action following the @covidinquiryuk module 3 report, which confirms widespread and ongoing failures in healthcare. #LongCovid #CovidInquiry #Covid19 #LongCovidAHPs

Tribunal dismisses #DWP appeal and tells it to release ‘worst case scenario’ report on claimant errors #BenefitDeaths #InformationRightsTribunal #FreedomOfInformation disabilitynewsservice.com/tribunal-dismi…

Any journalists covering Module 3 of the Covid Inquiry should really look at this. The sheer incompetence and arrogance of decision makers during one of the most horrendous times we’ve lived through, and they still aren’t acknowledging or following the evidence… @covidinquiryuk

If you are a healthcare worker with Long COVID, please fill out this survey twu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0j…

My new research is out "Overview and Pathophysiology of Long Covid" I provide an updated overview of key concepts, terminology and epidemiology of LC. I also offer an analysis of key mechanisms of pathology and multi-organ involvement in #LongCovid mdpi.com/2673-8112/6/3/…