Not keeping track of post-Covid-19 syndrome cases: Health Ministry

The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said it does not have any count on what percentage of recovered patients are suffering from the post-Covid-19 syndrome, even though a technical panel within the Ministry was examining the issue for more than a month.

More and more hospitals are now reporting cases of the post-Covid-19 syndrome, in which people suffer from breathlessness, fatigue and body ache. There are also reports of fibrosis in the lungs in some of the recovered patients.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is an example of this, as he was admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Delhi on August 18, four days after being tested Covid-19 negative at a private hospital in Gurugram.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

“We don't have anyone suffering from post-Covid syndromes. We are not keeping a track,” Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a press conference here.

For more than a month, a technical committee within the ministry was in touch with various hospitals to know the status of recovered patients. “The aim is to create a guidance document to help the doctors treating such patients,” Bhushan said.

While other countries have scientifically documented the unrelated health problems faced by the Covid-19 patients, there is no such attempt in India so far though more than 24 lakh Indians have recovered from the pandemic so far.

Last week NITI Ayog member Vinod K Paul admitted that post-Covid sub-acute morbidities like respiratory symptoms, immunological reactions among children and fibrosis in lungs were “new dimensions” of the disease that were being watched.

"We will have to be aware that there may be some impact later too. We will use the treatment modalities available with us as and when required to deal with these cases. It is happening to an extent, but not at a dangerously alarming level," Paul said when asked to comment on the syndrome.

Bhushan said the number of active Covid-19 cases dropped for the first time by more than 6,400 in the last 24 hours. The rate of increase of active cases is showing a declining trend too. The positivity rate fell further in the fourth week of August (8.6%) compared to the second week (9%). But to get control of the epidemic, the positivity rate must drop below 5%.

Out of 58,390 deaths recorded so far, nearly 51% are people of age 60 years and above while another 36% are people in the age between 45-60 years.

Balram Bhargava, Director-General of Indian Council of Medical Research said that the council would undertake the second round of national sero-prevalence survey in September while the results of the first survey would be published later this week.

ICMR had received criticism in the past for not publishing the results of the first national-level serological survey that can offer an idea on the extent of the spread of the infection.