Survivors of the novel coronavirus stand risks of various organ damage as the virus can still trigger a lot of inflammation, a new study reports.
According to HuffPost, the possible organ damage might affect patients who had moderate-to-severe cases of the pandemic.
The medium reported that researchers who tested the biological markers of recovered patients found that those patients had lingering issues with liver function.
Scientists have observed that in a bid to understand the impact COVID-19 might have on the body, it’s crucial to first take a look at the immediate damage it inflicts.
Pulmonologist and assistant professor of pulmonary, critical care and medical education at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Khalilah Gates, notes that, “When the body is exposed to an infection like COVID-19, it mounts an inflammatory response, in which the immune system pumps out cells to fight the virus.
“With COVID-19, some people’s bodies are producing way too much of an inflammatory response that’s harming critical organs such as the lungs, kidneys, and heart.”
Gates warned that the human body cannot recover overnight from the level of damage that COVID-19 wrecks on it, and that the body must heal itself.
“Unfortunately, particularly in the lung, this healing process can lead to irreversible scarring (fibrosis) that can greatly impact lung function long term,” Gates said.
“This loss of lung capacity could involve anything from shortness of breath to a long-term need for oxygen,” he added.
According to the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, the majority those who had been treated in the isolation facilities had been mild-to-moderate cases.
He also noted that the two people who died at the state’s isolation facilities had presented late; while about 12 others had died at private healthcare facilities that were not authorised to treat the global pandemic.
Two other reported deaths had been due to other underlying diseases, the commissioner had said.
