Boston Globe A study from researchers at Mass General Brigham may pave the way for effective treatments. Scientists and doctors have suspected for years that one cause of the mysterious condition known as long COVID may be reservoirs of the virus that remain hidden in the bodies of its victims long after their acute infections have passed.
Earlier this month, a research team led by Boston-area scientists unveileda study suggesting that this is true for almost half of those suffering from the condition.
“It’s unlikely that persistent virus is the cause of all long COVID symptoms,” said Dr. David Walt, co-director of the Mass General Brigham Center for COVID Innovation and the study’s senior author. “What is more probable is that it’s one of the causes.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates almost 7 percent, or close to 18 million Americans, suffer from long COVID, a chronic condition often marked by a series of debilitating symptoms that can include extreme exhaustion, difficulty breathing, neurological problems, chronic pain and brain fog. Almost five years after the syndrome was first identified, there are still no approved blood tests to diagnose long COVID, no clinically validated treatments, and no cure. Due to the myriad ways the disease manifests — there are more than 300 reported symptoms — many nowbelieve long COVID may encompass several distinct conditions, with distinct causes.