No such thing as long Covid, say doctors as new study finds lab leak ‘most likely’ cause of the global pandemic

15 March 2024, 15:49

Doctors have said long Covid is no different to any other post-viral syndrome
Doctors have said long Covid is no different to any other post-viral syndrome. Picture: Alamy

By Emma Soteriou

There is no such thing as Covid, doctors have claimed after a study found that a lab leak was "most likely" the cause of the pandemic.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Long Covid symptoms are no different to the after-effects of other viruses like flu, the chief health officer of Queensland, Australia, said.

The symptoms, which included fatigue, brain fog, and shortness of breath, are not unique to Covid, Dr John Gerrard said.

Those experiencing it are just suffering with post-viral syndrome.

"In health systems with highly vaccinated populations, long Covid may have appeared to be a distinct and severe illness because of high volumes of Covid-19 cases during the pandemic," he said.

"However, we found that the rates of ongoing symptoms and functional impairment are indistinguishable from other post-viral illnesses.

"We believe it is time to stop using terms like 'long Covid'.

Read more: ‘Man in the Iron Lung’ Paul Alexander dies aged 78 after weeks after being rushed to hospital with Covid

Read more: ‘Hypervaccinated’ man received 217 Covid jabs ‘for private reasons’ with no side effects

"They wrongly imply there is something unique and exceptional about longer-term symptoms associated with this virus."

He added: "This terminology can cause unnecessary fear, and in some cases, hyper vigilance to longer symptoms that can impede recovery."

It comes as a study has found that evidence points toward a lab leak being the cause of the pandemic.

Researchers in Australia have been using a risk analysis tool to look at the chances of Covid being of "unnatural" or "natural" origin.

The study said: "The origin of [Covid] is contentious. Most studies have focused on a zoonotic origin, but definitive evidence such as an intermediary animal host is lacking."

Despite Covid having a high score from the criteria, which looked at things such as the rarity of a virus, the timing of a pandemic and the spread of a virus, researchers said the "risk assessment cannot prove the origin of [Covid], but shows that the possibility of a laboratory origin cannot be easily dismissed".

Author Dr Raina MacIntyre, who is also a professor of Global Biosecurity at the University of New South Wales, told DailyMail.com: "The key point [the findings] make is that the likelihood of [Covid] originating from a lab is non-trivial and cannot be dismissed as a conspiracy theory."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Migrants attempting to cross the English Channel

Migrant dies in Channel after dinghy capsizes while trying to reach UK

A P-8A Poseidon aircraft followed the Russian convoy along the British coast.

RAF spy plane buzzes Russian convoy loaded with weapons in Channel ahead of crucial peace talks in London

Most lower back pain treatment doesn't really work, a new study has found

Most lower back pain treatment is ineffective, researchers find

File photo of NHS ambulance staff

Three dead after food poisoning outbreak as authorities investigate link to NHS hospital

Kennedys Riding in Dallas Motorcade. minutes later he was assassinated

Lee Harvey Oswald was a 'poor shot' KGB claimed: Bombshell revelations from CIA's newly released JFK files

Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group Faces Collapse

'We missed you too': Retail giant Topshop hints at return to high street

Zelenskyy has accused Putin of lying

Zelenskyy accuses Putin of lying after hospital bombing, with Ukrainian president to speak to Trump on Wednesday

Bulgarian club Arda Kardzhali apologises after holding a minute's silence for player who is still alive

Football club apologises after minute's silence for player - before discovering he's still alive

Part of the roofs on McGregor Road collapsed last night

Notting Hill horror as roofs collapse in affluent west London neighbourhood, with residents evacuated

Exclusive
Itay Kashti, a Jewish-Israeli music producer, was lured to what he believed was a musician retreat before being beaten and kidnapped for his race and religion.

Israeli music producer opens up about horrific anti-Semitic kidnapping as three men jailed for extortion plot

A call between Trump and Putin has been branded a failure

'Is this what a ceasefire looks like?' Putin accused of 'playing games' as Ukraine bombarded after Trump call

A high street branch of the Santander Bank on Tottenham Court Road, London, England, UK, Britain, British on a sunny day.

High Street banking giant to shut nearly 100 branches - is yours set to close?

Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate rails against ‘callous, toxic influencers’ harming young men

Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that yesterday's agreement was a rejection of a ceasefire

'Putin bluntly rejected Trump's ceasefire plan', former Ukrainian PM tells LBC

Netflix's new series Adolescence explores themes such as misogyny, radicalisation and control

Netflix's Adolescence exposes that power no longer lies with elected officials - but social media giants who shape our world

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to slash benefits spending

Soaring benefits bill 'devastating' for public finances, PM claims as he defends slashing welfare spending by £5bn