BREAKING! Silent Tsunami Of Post-COVID Lung Fibrosis Occurring Among Many. Indian Researchers Warn That Even Asymptomatics Are At Risk!

COVID-19 News: A silent health crisis is taking place as many Post-COVID individuals who are unaware that as a result of exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, irrespective as to whether they were mildly asymptomatic or asymptomatic, lung scarring is taking place leading to lung fibrosis that can lead to a variety of serious health consequences. There is a current fallacy among many even physicians that lung fibrosis only occurs in those with severe COVID-19 infections although more emerging studies and clinical data is showing that literally anybody who has been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is susceptible to lung fibrosis.


 
Researchers from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore-India and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka-India in a series of cases studies are presenting evidence of the chilling revelation that even many who were not even aware that they had been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus as result of being asymptomatic are developing lung fibrosis!
 
The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic is silently taking shape, with what can only be described as a quiet catastrophe as a rising tide of 'silent' cases of lung fibrosis, particularly in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients is going to be a massive burden to the public healthcare infrastructures across the globe.
 
Lung fibrosis also known as pulmonary fibrosis or scarring of the lungs, is a severe, often irreversible condition that can significantly impair breathing. Pulmonary fibrosis is a lung disease where the lace-like tissue around the air sacs of the lungs known as alveoli, becomes damaged, thickened and scarred. As the lungs scar and stiffen, breathing becomes more difficult and not enough oxygen is able to enter the bloodstream.
 
Typically, signs and symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis may include:
-Shortness of breath (dyspnea)
-A dry cough
-Fatigue
-Unexplained weight loss
-Aching muscles and joints
-Widening and rounding of the tips of the fingers or toes (clubbing)
The course of pulmonary fibrosis and the severity of symptoms can vary considerably from person to person. Some people become ill very quickly with severe disease. Others have moderate symptoms that worsen more slowly, over months or years. Fatal outcomes are the end-point of the condition.
 
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a global devastation, wreaking havoc on health, economic, and social sectors. While the aftermath of the disease in severe cases has been well-documented and covered in various studies and past COVID-19 News reports, we are now stepping into a new, uncharted territory of post-COVID complications in patients who never even knew they had the virus.
 
The Indian researchers have unveiled a series of cases that paints a deeply disturbing picture. Pulmonary fibrosis, a condition often associated with severe COVID-19, is now appearing in people who had mild or no symptoms at all.
 
Alarmingly, this condition seems to respect no age barriers or pre-existing health conditions, attacking both the young and the old, the healthy and the ailing.
 
In a series of four clinical case studies, the researchers noted patients presenting pulmonary fibrosis as their primar y manifestation. These patients had no clear history of severe COVID-19 infection, and some of them didn't even know they had the virus in the past. In the aftermath of the pandemic, these silent cases of lung scarring are being diagnosed more frequently, causing difficulty for clinicians.
 
In the case series, two of the patients had no history of COVID-19 infections and were unvaccinated, but had high anti-IgG antibodies for COVID-19, indicating a past asymptomatic infection. The third patient was partially vaccinated, and the fourth was fully vaccinated, both with a history of mild COVID-19 infection. All four were diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, which seemed atypical for post-COVID cases, thus posing a diagnostic challenge.
 
Lung fibrosis is usually associated with moderate to severe disease COVID-19 infections and is rarely described in asymptomatic and mild cases of COVID-19.
 
The similarities between this condition and usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) in terms of radiological presentation and symptoms are posing challenges to clinicians in differentiating these two entities in the post-COVID era.
The Indian researchers noted that while the number of pulmonary fibrosis cases has spiked following the COVID-19 pandemic, it was previously known to be a complication of severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
 
Now, however as evidenced by these case studies, it's becoming clear that fibrosis could also be a consequence of asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 infection.
 
These silent but deadly cases of post-COVID fibrosis should serve as a wake-up call.
 
With so many onslaughts and wavelets taking place across the world due to the endless variety of emerging SARS-CoV-2 sub-lineages and while many stupid authorities and ‘experts’ are claiming that the infections are mild and poses not much of a health threat, these new evidence that that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is capable of causing lung fibrosis even in those that were asymptomatic or had only mild conditions is a wake-up call for many that they cannot be complacent and disregard COVID-19 prevent measures.
 
In the post-pandemic era, early and accurate diagnosis of post-COVID fibrosis is vital, and the challenge is set to become even more significant as more asymptomatic and mild cases emerge.
 
People who those who think they escaped unscathed should be educated or informed of the risk they potentially face so that they would be more cautious and develop the initiatives to go for relevant health screenings.
 
The shadowy aftermath of COVID-19 is unfurling, and the medical world faces a daunting task in identifying, diagnosing, and treating these silent cases of post-COVID fibrosis.
 
The case studies were published in the peer reviewed Indian Journal of Tuberculosis.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019570722000725
 
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