Counting the Sequela of Infectious Diseases： Is COVID-19 Sequela Really Terrible？
It has been more than two years since the outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019.Sequela of COVID-19Discussions on related topics have never stopped.
"COVID-19 may cause permanent damage to male sexual function?"
"terror! More than 200 kinds of sequelae of COVID-19 are difficult to cure for life! "
"COVID-19 after cure, sequela emerge in large numbers! Experts uncover the cruel truth … "
Since February this year, with the spread of Omicron mutant and its subfamily, the epidemic has rebounded and spread on a small scale in many cities in China. The constant variation of COVID-19 virus has always kept the "sequela of COVID-19" in the fog. However, the growing number of recovered people in COVID-19 has rapidly fermented the fear of COVID-19’s sequela. We can see this fear from the emotional distribution of public opinion about COVID-19’s sequela on social media.
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Obviously,Fear occupies the absolute majority of public opinion.But it seems that some people are slowly accepting the sequela of COVID-19. This may be related to the difference in toxicity between Omicron strain and previous strains. However, people’s negative emotions still dominate the mystery of COVID-19’s sequela.
Is the sequela of COVID-19 really terrible?The medical community can’t give an exact answer at present, especially in the context of Covid-19’s continuous evolution. However, infectious diseases have always been the main diseases threatening human health, and even to some extent, infectious diseases and human beings have jointly constructed social life and history. Perhaps from the history of human infectious diseases for thousands of years, we can find some traces of answers.
In history, have humans ever defeated infectious diseases and their sequelae?
Infectious diseases break out at different stages of human development, andThe human struggle against the sequelae of infectious diseases is always in a continuous state.. This persistence lies not only in the fact that its sequelae will still have a long-term impact on the recovered after the epidemic of infectious diseases has been controlled, but also in the fact that it takes a long time for human beings to recognize the sequelae caused by these widespread infectious diseases.
Not every infectious disease will cause sequelae, butEvery disease that may leave sequelae for the recovered has left an indelible mark on human history.. Looking back at the development history of infectious diseases that left sequela problems, it is not difficult to find the power of these diseases.
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For thousands of years,Only smallpox is the only truly eradicated infectious disease in human history.While other infectious diseases are still dormant in every corner of the earth. Before the birth of modern science, human beings didn’t fully understand viruses and bacteria, and there were still many puzzles about what infectious diseases were, how they occurred and how to effectively prevent, deal with and contain them, especially for the sequelae of infectious diseases.
Overcoming the sequela of COVID-19, it seems, is not a short process.
How long does it take to correctly understand a sequela?
In the face of the sequelae of infectious diseases, human beings, like other temporarily unknown things, seek answers from practical experience and try to establish their understanding of the sequelae of infectious diseases.
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As the experience of fighting SARS, hepatitis B and influenza shows,The study of sequela is based on the epidemic of infectious diseases, and the long-term sequela makes the study of sequela lag behind the occurrence of epidemic of infectious diseases for a long time.The outbreak of hepatitis B in China was from 1970 to 1992, but the number of related studies on the sequelae of hepatitis B reached its peak in the 21st century.
At the same time, the pathogens of some infectious diseases are constantly changing and updating.It seems that the sequela of infectious diseases and human beings have also become an endless tug-of-war.Influenza virus has undergone many mutations during its epidemic thousands of years. For example, the 1918 influenza virus, known as the "mother of pandemic", has been studied, and almost all influenza A (except avian influenza virus, such as H5N1 and H7N7) in the world since then are its descendants. The research on the sequela of influenza has been going on for centuries, but so far it has not been able to give a definite conclusion.
A large sample study of sequelae of COVID-19 also needs a long time span. At present, there have been achievements in the research of COVID-19’s sequelae in the medical field, and the research object is mainly COVID-19 patients in 2020, and there is a great difference between the infected strains of COVID-19 patients in 2020 and the popular Omicron variant.The sequela of COVID-19 is still an unpredictable variable.
What are the consequences of the unknown sequelae?
Academic research itself lags behind the outbreak of infectious diseases, and human beings are often in the blank or limited cognition of diseases and their sequelae for a long time.Faced with the unknown, out of worry and fear, people may avoid patients with diseases, and even breed group malice against patients.
Just as people are sensitive and uneasy about "COVID-19" nowadays, from the end of 20th century to the beginning of 21st century, Chinese in this period fell into a panic about "Hepatitis B".
Hepatitis B virus carriersThere is a certain probability of complications such as hepatocellular carcinoma, chronic active hepatitis with or without cirrhosis. The serious illness made people nervous for a while, and also made hepatitis B carriers bear numerous social pressures at that time. The word "hepatitis B discrimination" also comes from this.
"hepatitis b discrimination"It refers to giving different, often unreasonable and unequal treatment to hepatitis B virus carriers outside the conditions stipulated by law. The wrong understanding of hepatitis B is the root of social prejudice and discrimination. At the same time, there are many patients with hepatitis B in China, and the social discrimination against hepatitis B patients and hepatitis B virus carriers is more serious.
China’s laws and regulations related to hepatitis B are gradually improved and perfected in the exploration of hepatitis B cognition.
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At the end of 1980s, the research on hepatitis B in the medical field was not clear, and hepatitis B was mistaken for being highly contagious, and many rights and interests of hepatitis B carriers were restricted. Since the 21st century, with the deepening understanding of hepatitis B, especially the frequent occurrence of cases of discrimination against hepatitis B, the society and the country have gradually paid attention to this issue. According to the actual situation, relevant departments have promulgated and implemented a number of laws and regulations to solve the problems.
In 2010, atNotice on Further Standardizing the Physical Examination Items for Admission and Employment and Safeguarding the Admission and Employment Rights of HBsAg CarriersAfter the introduction, local governments and relevant departments responded in succession to protect the enrollment and employment rights of HBsAg carriers. It was also in this year that the number of laws and regulations related to hepatitis B reached its peak, and then it became more and more stable.
From the beginning of "talking about the color change of hepatitis B" to the later protection of rights, it is inseparable from the gradual establishment of objective cognition by all sectors of society and joint efforts to eliminate discrimination.Getting rid of people’s sensitivity and anxiety about "COVID-19" may also be inseparable from this process.
At present, more than 550 million COVID-19 patients have been confirmed in the world, and nearly 530 million people have been cured. The increasingly prominent sequela problem in COVID-19 has brought double challenges to academic research and policy planning. The sequela of COVID-19 needs the public’s attention and understanding, and the implementation of intervention measures by all sectors of society. The academic research of COVID-19’s sequela is not clear, and the policy planning of COVID-19’s sequela in China is still in the exploratory stage.
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At present, the country has explored COVID-19’s sequela policy from the aspects of advice, rehabilitation platform and economic subsidies.Some places have also begun to build rehabilitation hospitals in Kangding. For example, Suzhou City has designated the People’s Hospital of Suzhou Taihu National Tourism Resort as the designated rehabilitation hospital in COVID-19. It is imperative for the state to improve relevant measures as soon as possible to protect the rights of patients with sequelae of COVID-19 in the post-epidemic era. Whether it is necessary to further implement assistance to patients through legislation and other measures like hepatitis B remains to be discussed.It still needs some distance to get rid of people’s sensitivity and anxiety about "COVID-19".
How far are we from getting rid of the anxiety of "COVID-19 Sequela"?
If we want to know how far it is from getting rid of the anxiety of "COVID-19 sequela", we must first know what caused people’s anxiety about COVID-19 sequela. From people’s discussion on COVID-19’s sequela, we can find some key points.
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The anxiety about COVID-19’s sequela may be related to the influence of COVID-19’s sequela on the body.Symptoms of COVID-19’s sequela have attracted much attention. Besides symptoms, nouns such as fatigue, hepatitis, taste and adjectives such as fatigue also appear frequently. The academic circles can’t determine exactly what the "symptoms" of COVID-19’s sequela are, but in the discussion of COVID-19’s sequela, the impression of "COVID-19’s sequela" has gradually formed.
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Although these impressions may not be supported by scientific evidence, they will inevitably cause some panic.The influence of COVID-19’s sequela on mental state is often discussed, and adjectives such as "anxiety", "fear" and "depression" appear many times. Women, the elderly, etc. are also mentioned as the possible susceptible groups of sequelae of COVID-19.
Apart from paying attention to COVID-19’s sequela symptoms and personal emotional state,The anxiety about COVID-19’s sequela may also be related to the influence of COVID-19’s sequela on social life.In the phrase "life", keywords such as "dismissal" and "work" have also been discussed to some extent.
On May 29th, 2022, a blogger "I’m a little monster" who returned to COVID-19 for rehabilitation claimed that the organization where he worked as a Russian teacher asked to leave after learning that he had been infected with COVID-19. She said that she had done 50 or 60 nucleic acids, and all of them were negative. She also hoped that the society would be more tolerant and understanding to the recovered people in COVID-19.
Some people understand the reason why she was fired: "Because this disease will recur endlessly, and once you recover, everyone who comes into contact with you will become close or sub-close, and they may all face isolation … But please believe that everyone is kind, not discriminating, but afraid of separation and life and work stoppage." Some people also talk about similar experiences or concerns with bloggers. "When the cabin came back, people in the same building saw me close the door with a thief." "The little monster is still a hot self-media on the Internet. What about others? What should other ordinary people infected with COVID-19 do if they encounter such a thing?"
In fact, this blogger’s situation is not a case.A report published by The Lancet found that some people failed to return to their pre-infection work status or work after COVID-19 was infected, butThe reasons for losing one’s job are directly or indirectly related to COVID-19’s sequelae.
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How far are we from getting rid of the anxiety of "COVID-19 sequela"?
What effect COVID-19’s sequela will have on the health of COVID-19’s recovered people is an unpredictable variable, which needs to be verified by the medical community in time. If we want to form a reasonable attitude of society towards COVID-19’s rehabilitated people, we need all sectors of society to work hard to eliminate inequality and irrationality.
Mark Twain once said, "History will not repeat itself, but just like the rhyme of the article, similar events will happen again." The distance between us and getting rid of the anxiety of "COVID-19 sequela" is the same as that between human beings and other infectious disease sequela panic in the past.
Is the sequela of COVID-19 really terrible? History will give the answer.
References:
1. Shen Guoqiang, Ren Huiyan, Zhou Long, Wang Zhangye, Yan Xiaoyi. Study on the response policy and evaluation system of novel coronavirus epidemic [J]. Science and Technology Herald, 2021,39(05):87-98.
2. Zhang Wenhong, "Zhang Wenhong said pollution", CITIC Publishing House
3. World Health Organization https://www.who.int/zh/
4. Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (until 2021)
5.Lixue H，Qun Y，Xiaoying G,etal.1-year outcomes in hospital survivors with COVID-19:a longitudinal cohort study[J].Lancet(London,England).398(10302):747-758.
6. Emerging Infectious Diseases, an academic journal of CDC in the United States, January 2006, Volume 12, No.1, with the title of 1918 Influenza: Mother of All Pandemic Diseases.
7. People’s Network
http://www.people.com.cn/wsjk/wsjk11/112/pvw894121.htm
8.https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s? id=1725511321170854939&wfr=spider&for=pc
https://news.sina.com.cn/s/2020-03-15/doc-iimxyqwa0649265.shtml
https://xueqiu.com/9936619624/140976983
Author team:Dong Jieyun Lin Huan He Qing
Instructor:Bian Qing
Tongji University Art and Media College "Integrated Media Reporting" Course Column
Contact information of the author:
19821236527 (mobile phone)
1037002425@qq.com (mailbox)
Produced by:Tongji university college of art and media
