Category: Infection

NEW YORK — A surge of respiratory illnesses among children in China is swamping hospitals, and here in the Tri-State Area it has some parents asking pediatricians what they need to be doing to protect their families. “I feel like respiratory illnesses are always going around, you know? When winter comes, it’s like, buckle up,” said Upper West Side resident Kate Pallardy. READ MORE: On Call with Dr. Kumar: What’s causing latest surge in RSV, and how to stay healthy A seasonal spike in sickness is welcome to Pallardy’s world. Everyone has been ill, she says, from her daughter, Goldie, to her 12-year-old son, Anders. As he ran around a park on Tuesday, he’s better now after recently coming down with something. “I think got the flu, a cold, all kinds of sicknesses,” Anders said. “It’s already started and I think once you start Thanksgiving, it just keeps rolling,” Pallardy said. “We are seeing increased respiratory illnesses right now, both adults and children, and that’s expected with the winter season and holidays,” said Dr. Vino Palli, CEO of Mi Doctor Health. READ MORE: Doctors cautioning parents, children of potential flu-COVID-RSV combo during holiday season What Palli told CBS New York is different this season. Some New York City parents are worried about news from China, where hospitals are swamped with kids diagnosed with pneumonia and other respiratory infections. “Parents are asking questions about the situation in China,” Palli said. “We don’t need to panic right now based on what we know, but we definitely need to be more vigilant and there’s a lot of surveillance being done by the CDC and our scientists at different university hospitals, looking at the current situation in China and, of course, if something crops up we’re going to take a look at it.” Doctors say always a good idea are the proven medications and measures, including wearing masks, frequent handwashing, and proper ventilation. “Especially when you’re in a setting where you’re exposed to these infections, it’s not a bad idea to wear a mask, cracking a window or doing things outdoors,” Palli said, “and If you are having symptoms, stay home. And if you’re getting sicker, talk to your doctor, get tested, get treated before heading out to your family for the holidays.” This time in China, research indicates children are getting sick with known pathogens. Children there may be extra vulnerable because widespread masking and lockdowns during the pandemic shielded them from infections. Pallardy said she’ll live by some simple rules. “Eat healthy, be outside, get fresh air,” she said. She said using common sense and knowing the right precautions should pull her family through the holidays with good health intact. Experts say the wave of sickness currently in China is reminiscent of what happened after U.S. pandemic lockdowns ended. Dave Carlin Dave Carlin serves as a reporter for CBS2 News and covers breaking news stories and major events in the Tri-State Area. Twitter Facebook

(Getty Images) TOKYO — Cases of syphilis in Japan reached a record 13,251 this year, coinciding with a sharp increase in congenital syphilis, which is transmitted from a pregnant woman to her unborn child. The sexually transmitted disease (STD) has been on the rise in Japan since around 2011. Numbers were declining in 2019 and 2020, but have increased rapidly since 2021. This year’s preliminary national tally through Nov. 19, released by the Tokyo Metropolitan Infectious Disease Surveillance Center on Nov. 24, exceeded 2022’s preliminary figure of 12,966, setting a new record for the third straight year. Syphilis is transmitted by the bacterium Treponema pallidum that enters through the skin and mucous membranes. Two to three months after infection, a rash appears on the palms, soles and other parts of the body, but it is usually neither painful nor itchy. It can be cured if treated with antibiotics at an early stage. Yasuhiko Onoe, director of Private Care Clinic Tokyo’s Shinjuku branch and an expert on STDs, pointed out that numbers of female patients in their 20s and male patients in their 30s to 50s with syphilis is rising. He urges those with symptoms to see a doctor immediately and to get tested at least six weeks after worrisome sexual activity even without symptoms, when the results will be accurate. Meanwhile, according to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, there were 32 cases of congenital syphilis reported this year through Oct. 4, far exceeding the previous record of 23 cases in 2019. When transmitted from an infected mother to her unborn child through the placenta, miscarriage or stillbirth may occur, as well as congenital conditions such as deafness, blindness or intellectual disability. The number of congenital syphilis cases may rise further as they are reported later than cases among adults. “The situation is serious because syphilis is an STD that affects the next generation,” said Kei Kawana, chief professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Nihon University School of Medicine. Even if the infection is discovered after conception and treated immediately, transmission to the unborn child cannot be completely prevented. Kawana said, “It is important for anyone who wants to become pregnant to get tested together with their partner before conception, and to be careful that both of them are free of STDs.” (Japanese original by Sooryeon Kim, Lifestyle, Science & Environment News Department)

Toronto emergency room doctors say the winter surge of COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections is underway, with hospitals seeing a wave of visits across the GTA. In the last week, nearly 250 Ontarians have been admitted to hospital, and Public Health Ontario (PHO) reports the COVID-19 wastewater signal is at its highest level in more than a year. Toronto ER physician Dr. Kashif Pirzada took to social media this week to share he and his colleagues are doing far more resuscitations, crash intubations and seeing far more patients in cramped and packed emergency rooms. “We are admitting adults again on the ward even younger people in their 30s and 40s,’ said Dr. Pirzada. “It means we have to do life-saving maneuvers so we have to put people on ventilators and we have to put people on machines to help them breathe …that’s very serious. That’s when [the] mortality rate is very high as well.” Colleagues and I are doing far more resuscitations, crash intubations, and seeing far more patients in cramped and packed ERs. A bunch of bugs are to blame, including that-which-shall-not-be-named, and it’s only getting started. Some advice: – Now is the time to be a bit… pic.twitter.com/OLBGnHAEcn — Kashif Pirzada, MD (@KashPrime) November 27, 2023 “I had a healthy woman with no medical problems in her 40s, who was just fighting a cold for a few weeks and then developed severe pneumonia and had to end up in our ICU. So we saw that before COVID but now it’s much more common now.” With the virus season revving up a little sooner than normal, these Toronto doctors say hospitals are not yet in crisis mode like they were last year when emergency departments were completely overwhelmed and children were sometimes waiting days for an ICU bed. Dr. Pirzada said staffing levels are still not great. “We’re just lucky that it’s not as overwhelming as last year but if it does get stressed and I’m worried about the holiday season, especially with the early inkling that we’re getting now that we won’t be able to handle it the way things are going. I’m really worried about what’s going to happen in the next month or so.” When someone should be heading to an ER “If you cross the line where you have a fever of more than five days, that makes us worried. If you have severe chest pain or trouble breathing, that’s a bad thing, you need to get checked out,” said Dr. Pirzada. “[If] you are not eating or drinking anything, that’s also a bad sign, if you are so tired you can’t get up and do anything also a bad sign, especially in a kid, that’s also a sign to get checked.” Doctors say now is the time to protect yourself, and if you’re sick, stay home and wear a mask. “I went into a packed subway car the other day and I wear a mask in there because I was face to face with people. I think use your common sense like you don’t want to get more sick than you need to be. So in super crowded areas, I think it’s a good idea to wear [masks]. They’re annoying, they’re inconvenient, but I think they might save you a lot of grief this holiday season.” Dr. Pirzada adds getting a COVID-19 booster would also help. The advice comes as just 24 per cent of the population has completed a primary COVID-19 vaccine series and two or more booster doses.

Business Report: McDonald’s spinoff CosMc’s coming soon? McDonald’s appears ready to open a spinoff chain named CosMc’s. Plus, the Maple Leafs are putting a new corporate logo on their helmets, and yet another Disney movie opens to disappointing returns. Richard Southern reports.

Mandatory cookies are used on our website www.aa.com.tr in order to provide you with a better service. These cookies cannot be disabled via the “Cookie Control Panel”. You can view the cookies used on our site via the “Cookie Control Panel” and change your preferences. Necessary Cookies This cookie is used to distinguish between humans and bots. This is beneficial for the web site, in order to make valid reports on the use of their web site. Functional Cookies Remembers the user’s selected language version of a website. Performance/Analytical Cookies Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate. Advertising/Marketing Cookies This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics. (Alexa Analytics is an Amazon company.)

By Dr. Greg Zerovnik Contributing Writer 11/28/2023 at 12:49 PM SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. – A new monoclonal antibody and new anti-viral vaccines are coming for the first time to provide protection against RSV, Respiratory Syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) Virus. LaSalle Medical Associates clinics will be providing these breakthroughs to patients this fall. “RSV is a cold-like virus that is usually mild but can put some people in the hospital,” says Dr. Cheryl Emoto, Medical Director of LaSalle Medical Associates. “For the first time this fall, young infants and seniors (those with the highest risk for severe disease) now have a way to prevent it.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that “Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious. Infants and older adults are more likely to develop severe RSV and need hospitalization. Vaccines are available to protect older adults from severe RSV. Monoclonal antibodies are available to protect infants.” The CDC goes on to note that RSV is “one of the most common causes of childhood illness and is the most common cause of hospitalization among infants [emphasis ours].” It usually starts in the fall and peaks in the winter, but this can vary. Monoclonal antibodies and vaccines may now prevent RSV. A monoclonal antibody is a clone of a unique white blood cell (white blood cells are the body’s own infection fighters) given to augment and reinforce the body’s natural defenses. It’s the option available for infants who are entering their first RSV season. They are not used when someone already has RSV. Up until now, almost all children have contracted RSV by the time they reach 24 months, so the new prevention regimen has the potential to prevent illness and potential complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia, making life easier for both infants and their parents or caretakers. For older adults, the CDC estimates that between 60 to 100 thousand are hospitalized every year. resulting in 6,000 to 10,000 deaths. The most at-risk cohorts are older adults, adults with chronic heart or lung disease, those with weakened immune systems or certain underlying medical conditions and residents in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. Complications may include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, a chronic disease of the lungs that makes it hard to breathe), and congestive heart failure—when the heart can’t pump enough blood and oxygen through the body. Additionally, this year, there is now a regimen for pregnant women that keeps the developing fetus safe from infection. Now is the time to contact your healthcare provider to schedule an appointment for preventive care, especially if you are pregnant, have an infant under 8 months of age or are 60 years of age or older. LaSalle Medical Associates serves more than 350,000 patients in their clinics and statewide Independent Physicians Association Group (IPA) who are covered by Medi-Cal, Medicare, and Covered California, as well as those covered by Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Brand New Day, Molina, Care 1st, Health Net and Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP). LaSalle staff also help people who come into a clinic without any insurance to become enrolled for a variety of state and federal health coverage. For more information call (909) 890-0407 or go online to LaSalleMedical.com. Tags: (IEHP), and clinics, and Covered California, as well as those covered by Blue Cross, asthma, Blue Shield, Brand New Day, Care 1st, CDC, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, delivering high-quality patient care, doctors, Fresno, Health Net, hospitals, Inland Empire Health Plan, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, medi-cal, medicare, Molina, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, riverside, RSV, San Bernardino, San Bernardino and Tulare counties. Edit this post.

As thousands of Palestinians try to find space in Gaza’s shelters or move south for safety from Israeli bombardment, infectious diseases are sweeping across the besieged enclave, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report. Infectious maladies such as diarrhoea and chickenpox are soaring in Gaza, the WHO reported on Wednesday, while medical organisations have been warning of the risk of cholera and epidemics. Additionally, Gaza’s water and sanitation crises have made residents unable to escape the ripple effects of Israeli strikes and sieges in their daily lives. A lack of clean drinking water and pollutants proliferating through waterways after infrastructure breakdowns have contributed to infections. Faced with such limitations, hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are also cramped into shelters, potentially accelerating the spread of diseases. Thousands of others are also walking in crowds from north to south Gaza following Israeli orders to evacuate. “Between the worryingly low levels of access to proper water and sanitation, the extreme density of the population … and a large part of the population that has evacuated to the southern three governorates, you have a highly conducive environment for an outbreak and spread of infectious disease”, said Michael Talhami, regional water and habitat adviser for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Here’s what to know about the main infectious diseases that have been rampant across Gaza since mid-October, according to the WHO. What diseases are affecting Gaza the most? Upper respiratory infections: A total of 54,866 cases have been recorded so far. This primarily affects breathing with symptoms such as a runny nose, coughing and throat pain. Respiratory diseases were already the sixth-most common cause of death in the Gaza Strip prior to the outbreak of the war last month. Diarrhoea: More than 33,551 cases of diarrhoea have been reported with at least half among children under the age of five, according to the WHO. By comparison, 2021 and 2022 witnessed an average of 2,000 cases per month in children under five. Drinking contaminated water is one of the key reasons behind diarrhoea. Skin rashes: A total of 12,635 cases have occurred. Bacteria and viruses can make parts of the skin red, inflamed and itchy. Skin rashes and scabies are some of the first signs of inadequate water supply for proper hygiene, according to Talhami. Scabies and lice: A total of 8,944 cases of these parasitic infections have been reported. While lice typically infest the hair, scabies occur on other parts of the body as they prefer to burrow into the skin. Both cause severe itching. Chickenpox: At least 1,005 chickenpox cases have been reported. This viral disease causes itchy, blister-like rashes and fever. It primarily affects children but can infect adults too. Statistics on deaths due to infectious diseases are typically reported by the Ministry of Health on an annual basis, although the WHO is working to get that data faster during the war, agency officials said. What are some of the factors behind these diseases? Contaminated or inadequate water supply, overcrowding and disrupted hygiene are some of the key factors contributing to infectious disease outbreaks. While some families in Gaza are cramped in apartments, others are taking shelter in UN facilities, some of which have been labelled by the UN itself as unfit for providing “safe and dignified living conditions”. Meanwhile, solid waste has been collecting on the streets of Gaza, creating breeding grounds for insects and rodents that carry and transmit diseases, according to the WHO. Harmful bacteria have also seeped through water supplies across Gaza from the sea to drinking water, becoming a major source of infections whether people are washing their clothes or trying to stay hydrated. “Even if at the source, they still treat this water, as it’s being delivered, there are so many ways that contaminants can get in. And it’s very difficult to monitor under these circumstances,” said Talhami, about the drinking water supply. Additionally, damage to residential buildings can contaminate water supplies for domestic uses as well because they are typically connected to infrastructure that runs under main roads and side streets, he explained. Amid a sanitation system breakdown, hundreds across Gaza are being forced to share a limited number of toilets. In shelters in the south, where people are evacuating to, at least 600 displaced people share one toilet, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In the case of respiratory tract infections, while viruses are a common cause, a 2018 study on war-related injuries in the Gaza Strip also found that the inhalation of poisonous gas from military activity led to respiratory diseases. Incomplete coverage of disease surveillance systems, insufficient internet and mobile phone connectivity and disrupted medical services have also made it difficult to monitor or respond to infectious diseases. Even within hospitals, being forced to work with inadequate personal protective equipment or cleaning supplies means medical staff can also acquire and transmit diseases while providing care, said the WHO. Medical sources have reported white flies and their larvae on wounds which can risk tissue damage and bacterial infection, according to OCHA.

11/10/2023November 10, 2023 Fungal infections are becoming more prevalent due to climate change. If the pathogens get into your body, for example into your lungs, this can be very problematic. There is a lack of effective drugs to tackle them. https://p.dw.com/p/4YKVg Advertisement Send us your feedback

AIMed provides a comprehensive research project centred around antimicrobial peptides and biomaterials for medical applications. Antibiotic-resistant infections are a key issue in rising mortality and morbidity rates, especially in post-operative scenarios. The risk of infections is especially high for orthopaedic surgeries, leading to a heavy financial burden on the healthcare system. This mandates the need for large-scale funding and collaborative work in order to develop a series of medical devices with enhanced antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility. The European Union’s funded Antimicrobial Integrated Methodologies (AIMed) is one such multi-disciplinary and inter-sectoral effort directed towards combating orthopaedic infections. AIMed is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (Horizon2020 MSCA-ITN), consisting of 12 beneficiaries and seven partner organisations, for training 15 early-stage researchers (ESRs) across Europe. AIMed’s training network The AIMed network promotes interdisciplinary academic research for developing next-generation orthopaedic implants with antimicrobial properties. One of the key areas of focus is the development of novel antimicrobial peptides allowing large-scale production and fusion with biopolymers for improved delivery to infection sites. Within the network, researchers are collaborating to investigate novel techniques for subsequent immobilisation and conjugation of antimicrobial peptides on potential material surfaces. AIMed is co-ordinated by Professor Artemis Stamboulis at the University of Birmingham. Professor Stamboulis leads the Biomaterials Research Group at the School of Metallurgy and Materials, which works on the design and synthesis of novel antimicrobial peptides that mimic the antimicrobial core of human defensins. AIMed’s current projects Along with early-stage researchers Pietro Ricco, Diana Gomes and Mohadeseh Zare, Professor Stamboulis’ group works on computational and Machine-Learning algorithms for designing peptides using solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). Their research also encompasses different techniques, such as plasma nitriding and laser treatment for the functionalisation of surfaces with antimicrobial peptides. The project is also heavily associated with the Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Centre (SRMRC). Professor Antonella Bandiera at the Universita Degli Studi di Trieste, Italy, along with Laura Colomina Alfarao, are using recombinant DNA technology to produce human elastin-like polypeptides (HELPs) fused with computationally-designed peptides based on the sequence of the human β-defensins. The development of antibacterial human defensin-like peptides fused to collagen proteins is also carried out in collaboration with Dr Edwige Meurice, Professor Anne Leriche and one of the early-stage researchers, Cristina Cantallops Vilà, at the Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, France. At the Université, Paul Sabatier Toulouse, Dr Sophie Cazalbou, and early-stage researcher Andrea Marfoglia are 3D printing antimicrobial hydrogels with dual crosslinking mechanisms. A specific area of interest also involves developing sterile antimicrobial materials for orthopaedic applications and optimising bioactive agent release from medical devices. Using a chemical synthesis approach, David Groissin and ESR Edoardo Cianflone at the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse are working on developing fourth-generation biomaterials using substituted calcium phosphased-based multifunctional materials. In Croatia, Dr Maja Dutour Sikiric at Ruder Boskovic Insititute (RBI) and ESR Ana Marija are directing their efforts towards multi-layered antimicrobial coatings consisting of polyaminoacids and silver nanoparticles. At the University of Porto, Professor Maria Helena Fernandes and ESR Sanjana Vig comprehensively study bone formation and resorption processes under 2D conditions and 3D-tissue-engineered biomaterials. They have further established a model of crosstalk between resident bone cells, osteoclasts and osteoblasts mediated through secretion of extracellular vesicles. Their research is focused on bone metabolism and regeneration to develop optimised antimicrobial implants further. The consortium is also exploring cutting-edge techniques for surface modifications using laser-induced micro and nanopatterning on patterning and nanolayer formation. Dr Albena Daskalova’s group at the Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, is working on ultra-short laser patterning to develop antimicrobial surfaces. Three ESRs in her group, including Dante Maria Aceti and Emil Filipov, study laser patterning on polymers, composites, titanium, titanium alloys and bioceramics such as tricalcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite surfaces. They have recently reported a single-step process for simultaneous ultrashort-laser structuring and silver nanoparticle synthesis. In yet another novel approach, Professor Silke Christiansen at the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Innovations-Institut für Nanotechnologie und korrelative Mikroskopie, Germany, is working on laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) for developing smart biomaterials. Under her supervision, Lamborghini Sotelo exploits laser texturing to investigate the effects of surface roughness and wettability for the development of optimised surfaces with both antimicrobial activity and osteoinductive potential. Doctors Wolfgang Schuesselbauer and Hans Amler at Photon Energy GmbH further employ ultra-short laser impulses to modulate nano- and micro-topography, and chemical and structural composition. Petr Druzhinin is optimising these structures for enhanced antimicrobial activities. The AIMED project underscores the significance of antimicrobial coatings due to the escalating issue of antimicrobial resistance. It highlights the diverse approaches employed to develop antimicrobial materials and peptides for various biomedical applications, ranging from orthopaedics to broader biomaterials functionalisation. The importance of these advancements in the context of mitigating antimicrobial resistance is emphasised. Research findings highlight the potential of cyclodipeptides to self-assemble into supramolecular polymers, forming antimicrobial gel coatings. Various strategies for producing and purifying antimicrobial peptides are also being investigated. References Advanced Materials Technologies 2023, 10.1002/admt.202201802 Polymers 2022, 14(21), 4554. Nanomaterials 2023, 36770480 Materials 2022, 15(13), 4670 Polymers 2022, 14(12), 2382 Biomedicines 2022, 10(4), 767 Biotechnology and Bioengineering 2023, 36349439 Innovative Bioceramics in Translational Medicine I. Springer Series in Biomaterials Science and Engineering, vol 17 Arh Hig Rada Toksikol 2022;73:A12-A21 This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 861138 Please note, this article will also appear in the sixteenth edition of our quarterly publication. Go to this partner’s profile page to learn more about them Contributor Details Recommended Articles

At least 10% of people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, have symptoms that last more than four weeks after the infection. With more than 770 million infections to date, this translates to tens of millions of people living with the long-term consequences of COVID, known as “long COVID”. More than 200 symptoms of long COVID have been studied, with some of the most common being fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive difficulties, such as memory problems or “brain fog”. The condition can be debilitating – many people have to reduce their working hours or are unable to work entirely. But COVID may not be alone in causing long-lasting symptoms. In a new paper, my colleagues and I report the findings of a study comparing long-term symptoms reported by people who experienced different types of acute respiratory infection. We asked more than 10,000 people to report on 16 symptoms commonly found in long COVID, such as fatigue, breathlessness, aches and pains, and dizziness. We then compared how common these symptoms were among three groups: people who had reported COVID, those who had reported another acute respiratory infection (but had tested negative for COVID), and those who had not reported either infection. We focused on long-term symptoms by only including people who had been infected more than four weeks earlier. We also took into account people’s general health before they were infected, and whether they had any existing respiratory conditions. Our study showed that all the symptoms considered were more common in people with previous COVID than in people with no infections, regardless of whether they reported long COVID. But this finding wasn’t unique to COVID. Almost all the symptoms we looked at were also more common in people with non-COVID respiratory infections than in those with no infection. In other words, our findings hinted towards the existence of a “long cold”: long-lasting health effects from other respiratory infections, such as colds, flu, or pneumonia, that are currently going unrecognised. Some of the most common symptoms of the long cold include coughing, stomach pain, and diarrhoea. These symptoms were reported an average of 11 weeks after the infection. While a severe initial infection seems to increase the risk of long-term symptoms, our research does not yet tell us why some people suffer extended symptoms while others do not. Important differences Importantly, we have no evidence that symptoms of the long cold have the same severity or duration as long COVID. In fact, we saw some important differences in the symptoms reported in the two groups, with those recovering from COVID more likely to experience light-headedness or dizziness and problems with taste and smell. These findings shine a light not only on the impact of long COVID on people’s lives, but also other respiratory infections. A lack of awareness, or even the lack of a common term, such as “long cold” or “long flu”, prevents both reporting and diagnosis of these conditions. And people who do report their long cold may still struggle to get a diagnosis, owing to the wide range of symptoms and lack of diagnostic tests. Long-lasting symptoms after respiratory infections are not a new phenomenon. Studies in survivors of two previous coronavirus outbreaks – the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) pandemic and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) outbreak – have found long-term impacts on lung function, quality of life and mental health. And some people hospitalised with influenza A have experienced respiratory and psychological problems at least two years after being discharged from hospital. But most of the research so far has focused on people with severe disease, often severe enough to be hospitalised. Little is known about the long-term effects respiratory infections might have among people whose acute disease episode is less severe. Long COVID has bucked this trend, being studied in people with all levels of severity of the initial infection. This is in large part due to strong patient advocacy, showing that it can affect even those with mild initial symptoms. In demanding recognition of their condition, people with long COVID have cast a much-needed spotlight on post-infection syndromes more generally. Now is the time to improve our understanding, diagnosis and treatment of these conditions. Let’s not wait for another pandemic. Giulia Vivaldi, , Queen Mary University of London This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.