a simple stool test can indicate to patients recovered from covid-19 their risks of suffering the effects of a prolonged covid-19 with 90 percent accuracy, researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
This new technology could predict the long-term consequences of COVID-19
Professor Ng Siew Chien, associate director of the university’s Gut Microbiota Research Center. He said that the new technology who analyzed the bacteria in the intestine could predict the risks of recovered patients from suffering long-term sequelae.
prolonged COVID-19, or post covid syndrome, refers to various symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, poor memory, sleeping difficulties and hair loss. Which, persist more than four weeks after the patients they recover from the virus. It can affect patients who had mild or severe symptoms of Covid-19.
Professor Ng’s team was the first in the world to discover that long-term Covid patients have a distinct intestinal microorganism known as the microbiome, with an imbalance in the amount of different bacteria present.
The imbalance can cause a shortage of “good” bacteria linked to the respiratory system. which results in prolonged cough and shortness of breath or an abundance of “bad” bacteria linked to fatigue, insomnia, and loss of taste.
“A simple stool test can tell recovered Covid-19 patients their risks of suffering the effects of #LongCovid with 90% accuracy, researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have found.” https://t.co/7yyYYhR9aD
— charlos (@loscharlos) April 11, 2022
ABOUT THE TEST
Patients provide a Stool sample for analysis by the university lab. Two weeks later, they are told their test score, produced by an algorithm created from a analysis of more than 1200 samples of feces from healthy individuals, long-term Covid patients and people with other diseases.
Patients receive a report about the status of microorganisms in your gut that may indicate your risk of developing prolonged Covid.
The team previously studied 106 coronavirus patients and found that three out of four developed at least one prolonged symptom of covid six months after recovery, while a third had more than three.
The stool test will initially be provided at CUHK Medical Center, with details on cost and when it will be available for release soon.
“We can help recovered patients who can’t figure out the causes of their persistent symptoms and see if they have Covid for a long time by identifying the unique gut microbiome,” said Professor Francis Chan Ka-leung, director of the centre.
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