Post-COVID-19 illness

There have been some reports of long term illness in survivors of COVID-19; it is unclear how many people are affected and the treatment options are unclear at this stage. COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a similar coronavirus known as SARS-CoV, causes SARS, and SARS is known to have caused long term illness in some survivors.

COVID-19 pneumonia
Severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) is known to develop in some people severely ill with COVID-19. SARI resulting from other illnesses has been studied.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening condition that involves the patient's lungs becoming inflamed, and being unable to produce enough oxygen for the body's vital organs. ARDS is known to have long term effects.

ME/CFS
Myalgic encephalomyelitis, better known as ME, is a neurological disease that commonly begins after a virus, although other causes have been associated with it including bacterial infections, injuries, surgery and other events. Some researchers and some patients use the term chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), or ME/CFS to refer to ME, although there are differing diagnostic criteria. The older term Postviral fatigue syndrome (PVFS) is rarely used, although the World Health Organization recognize PVFS, ME, and CFS using the same diagnostic code, although some countries including the United States deviate from this.

A group of SARS survivors were found to have developed chronic fatigue syndrome after recovery from SARS.

Notable studies
No studies have yet been published about the impact of COVID-19 on the long term health of survivors.

News articles and blogs

 * Apr 2, 2020, Will COVID-19 -19 leave an explosion of ME/CFS cases in its wake? - blog by Cort Johnson
 * Apr 16, 2020, User Those Who Get COVID-19 and Get Healed Can Face Another Disease After A Few Years - Daniel Kucher - SOMAG news