Long Covid symptoms, how long does Long Covid last, what are the treatment options - and how cats might help
Scientists believe that cats may hold the key to developing a new treatment for Long Covid 🐈
- Scientists at the University of California, Davis have been researching how cats can help patients with Long Covid.
- An estimated 1.9 million people in the UK live with Long Covid.
- Fatigue is the most common symptom.
Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have been researching how cats can help patients with Long Covid.
An estimated 1.9 million people in the UK live with Long Covid, which can leave patients with debilitating symptoms including fatigue, breathlessness, and brain fog.
The new research is looking at how the treatment of a similar illness in cats can help pave the way for new treatments for Long Covid in humans.
Amir Kol, associate professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, said: “It’s important to understand that many pets suffer from diseases that are similar to human diseases.
“Veterinary medicine is a wonderful platform to conduct translational science that helps both pets and humans.”
What is Long Covid?
Long Covid, also known as Post-Covid Syndrome, is a new condition that is still being studied.
Most people who have Covid will feel better in a few days or weeks and make a full recovery after 12 weeks. However, for some people, Covid symptoms continue and can have a big impact on their lives.
What are the signs and symptoms of Long Covid?
Long Covid can affect people of all ages; the most common symptoms can include extreme tiredness, feeling short of breath, muscle aches, difficulty concentrating, and joint pain.
According to the NHS, the most common symptoms of long COVID are:
- extreme tiredness (fatigue)
- feeling short of breath
- problems with your memory and concentration ("brain fog")
- heart palpitations
- dizziness
- joint pain and muscle aches
Other persisting symptoms can include:
- loss of smell
- chest pain or tightness
- difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
- pins and needles
- depression and anxiety
- tinnitus, earaches
- feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite
- cough, headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste
- rashes
How long does Long Covid last?
For most people, the symptoms of Covid will get better within days to weeks; however, for others, they can persist. Long Covid symptoms can continue for weeks, months, or even years after the initial Covid infection.
What are the treatment options for Long Covid?
The NHS offers treatment centres for people who think they may have Long Covid. These multidisciplinary clinics offer physical, cognitive, and psychological assessments, diagnostic tests, and management or appropriate onward referral for rehabilitation, and other support.
If you think you may be experiencing Long Covid, talk to your GP to find out if you meet the criteria and can be referred to a Long Covid Clinic.
How can cats help with Long Covid?
Scientists at the University of California, Davis, believe that cats may be able to offer us insight on how to help patients with Long Covid. Feline infectious peritonitis, or FIP, is a serious disease found in cats caused by Coronavirus.
Up until recently, FIP was fatal in cats, but thanks to a new antiviral agent, many cats now recover. Scientists have found that some of the cats who recover from FIP still have enlarged lymph nodes, indicating that their immune systems are overworking, which is something that people with Long Covid can experience.
They found that using antivirals along with infusions of MSCs helped some of the cats’ immune systems recover compared to those that had antivirals alone.
Kol said: “Our findings support the idea that FIP in cats is a useful model for studying long-term immune problems after a viral infection — something that also happens in some people after illnesses like COVID-19. It shows that MSC therapy might not only reduce short-term inflammation but help bring the immune system back into lasting balance.”
The findings could help scientists understand if a similar approach could help with viruses in humans, such as Long Covid.
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