More survivors suffer coronavirus aftereffects
Hyundai Heavy Industries employees wait in long lines to go through COVID-19 testing at a public health center in Ulsan, Wednesday, as several infections broke out at the company. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Concerns are growing over the aftereffects of COVID-19 as an increasing number of coronavirus survivors here and abroad have appeared to suffer from respiratory difficulty, abdominal pain, hair loss and other problems.
The health authorities and experts said not only high-risk patients such as the elderly and those with preexisting illnesses, but also young survivors in their 20s and 30s appear to suffer from various aftereffects, calling on residents not to let their guard down against the highly contagious disease.
Park Hyun, a professor at Pusan National University's School of Mechanical Engineering who was the 47th virus patient in Busan, said he was declared virus-free in March but has since been suffering for months from serious aftereffects such as brain fog and chronic fatigue as well as chest and abdominal pain.
“As brain fog has made me feel like my head is in the clouds, I have been experiencing memory problems and the inability to focus,” he wrote on Facebook. “I have had a throbbing headache as well.”
Another coronavirus survivor in her 20s shared her experience of a hospital stay and aftereffects she has been suffering since she was declared virus-free.
“I had been hospitalized for 37 days and was discharged from a hospital after I tested negative for the virus twice,” she wrote on an online community run by web portal, Nate. “After being discharged from the hospital, however, I had to quit my job and stay home due to serious aftereffects such as headaches and respiratory difficulties.”
Other countries have seen similar situations. According to The Washington Post, about half of coronavirus survivors at Italy's Bergamo said they have not fully recovered as they are still suffering from a variety of aftereffects.
Bergamo was one of the virus hotspots in the European country.
Italian doctors, who carried out in-depth analysis of the health conditions of about 750 virus survivors, said 30 percent are suffering from respiratory disturbance, while others are suffering blood coagulation, hair loss, depression and severe fatigue, amongst other health issues, according to The Washington Post.
Health authorities here said they have also been carrying out a follow-up survey targeting virus survivors in response to growing concerns over COVID-19 aftereffects.
“The National Medical Center has been conducting an aftereffect study since April by tracing those who were discharged from hospitals,” said Kwon Joon-wook, deputy director at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, noting that a 360 million won ($303,000) budget was allocated to the study.
“The medical center has taken blood samples of 30 survivors every three months for analysis, and has also been carrying out regular mental health check-ups,” he said.
With regard to whether to support survivors suffering from aftereffects, he said the government will discuss the issue based on the results of the study.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the country added 156 more COVID-19 cases including 144 local infections for Tuesday, raising the total caseload to 21,588.
The nation's new virus cases stayed below 200 for the seventh consecutive day.