Long-term consequences of flu: how dangerous is the ‘long flu’?

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Just like with Corona, a serious flu infection can also have long-term consequences. American researchers point this out in the journal “The Lancet Infectious Diseases”.

In their research, scientists led by Ziyad Al-Aly of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discovered, among other things, that with both Corona and flu, the risk of certain serious health problems is lower in the first thirty years. days after the start of the infection than in the time afterwards. It also turned out that the chance of serious long-term consequences after a corona infection is on average greater than after the flu.

Lesson from Covid

‘Flu’ is the abbreviation of the English term for influenza. That is why Al-Aly and his colleagues call the long-term effects of the flu ‘Long Flu’, based on the now common term ‘Long Covid’.

“An important lesson we learned from Sars-Cov-2 is that an infection initially thought to cause only a short-term illness can also lead to a chronic illness,” Al-Aly said in a statement from his university .

Statements about people with serious illnesses

The researchers observed and compared the health development of people who had been hospitalized due to corona or flu for 18 months. There were 81,280 corona and 10,985 flu patients. The study therefore only makes statements about people with a serious illness.

Compared to flu patients, corona patients have a 51 percent higher chance of dying, the study shows. In nine out of ten organ systems examined, the health risk for corona patients is greater than for flu patients. Only when it comes to the lungs, flu patients have a greater risk of negative health consequences.

Loss of years of healthy life

The number of healthy years of life lost due to the flu is 242.66 years per 100 people, and in the Covid-19 group it is 287.43 years.

According to Al-Aly, vaccinations against both Covid-19 and influenza can help prevent serious diseases and reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. “Optimizing vaccination coverage must remain a priority for governments and healthcare systems around the world,” the scientist said. This is especially true for the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

BAG: Term misleading

Upon request, the Federal Public Health Office (BAG) described the term ‘Long Flu’ as ‘misleading’ and not for scientific use. “There is no new clinical picture. There have always been more severe or longer illnesses, including deaths, with influenza,” said spokesman Simon Ming.

“It has been known for decades that significantly more heart attacks are registered after, for example, the flu. Some complications of the flu can also last for weeks or even months,” says Ming. These include lung or heart problems or neurological disorders. Flu and coronaviruses are not the only viruses that cause complaints or complications in the long term.

According to Ming, the flu vaccination can reduce the risk of flu. “It also reduces the risk of serious or long-term illness.” The Swiss vaccination plan recommends annual flu vaccination for all people aged 65 and over, people with chronic diseases or an immune deficiency, pregnant women, premature children and anyone who has close personal or professional contact with these people.

Source: Blick