Long COVID is a disturbing sequel for many people who have recovered from COVID-19. Although these long haulers now test negative for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), some of their symptoms persist, such as brain fog, fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, headache, and chest, muscle, or joint pain, among other maladies. (The CDC has a complete list of potential symptoms long haulers might experience).
Three clues might lead to a better understanding of the problem and hopefully a treatment.
(1) Early on in the pandemic, researchers studying long haul COVID noticed that long hauler symptoms are similar to those of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), a disease that is not well understood.
(2) Recently, a significant percentage of ME/CFS patients were found to have antibodies in their bloodwork for Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), indicating a reactivation of the virus. EBV is extremely common, found in nine out of ten people worldwide. EBV spreads easily. After infection, the virus is in an active state for a time then goes dormant, or inactive. Many people have no idea they were ever infected and now harbor inactive EBV. However, under stress (like the kind of stress SARS-CoV-2 causes), EBV can reactivate. One of the many questions scientists have about the relationship between ME/CFS and EBV is, does EBV cause ME/CFS, or does ME/CFS cause EBV to reactivate?
(3) Another recent study found that of 185 recovered COVID-19 patients, more than two-thirds (73%) were found to have antibodies in their bloodwork for Epstein-Barr Virus, indicating EBV had reactivated. Thus, long COVID symptoms might be caused by EVB, not SARS-CoV-2. EBV reactivation might occur early in a SARS-CoV-2 infection, possibly remaining in the active state even after the patient recovers from COVID-19.
In this study of 185 recovered COVID-19 patients, some had no long haul symptoms. Of these, ten percent tested positive for EBV reactivation, or in other words, ninety percent of those without long haul symptoms also showed no evidence of EBV reactivation.
Although these are small studies, they offer hope of possible solutions for long haulers.
SOURCES
Long COVID Might Be The Manifestation of a Different Virus Reawakened in The Body
https://www.sciencealert.com/mounting-evidence-suggests-many-covid-19-long-haulers-are-co-infected-with-epstein-barr/
Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)-A Systemic Review and Comparison of Clinical Presentation and Symptomatology
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33925784/
Investigation of Long COVID Prevalence and Its Relationship to Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/6/763
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