Andrew Urquhart

@wolfeagle1989.bsky.social

1822 Followers 271 Following

PhD in Space Physics. Hobbyist SARS-CoV-2 lineage hunter. I will block trolls, misinformers, and disinformers at my personal discretion.

Screenshot of text from Aid et al reading “In this study, we evaluated the immunological and inflammatory responses in people with LC compared with convalescent controls (CCs) at 90–180 days and more than 180 days after initial COVID-19 infection using immunological assays, virological assays, transcriptomics and proteomics. The first cohort was enrolled in 2020–2021, and the second cohort was enrolled in 2023–2024. Our data show that chronic inflammation, T cell exhaustion, metabolic dysregulation and upregulation of the JAK-STAT and interleukin-6 (IL-6) signaling pathways are key features of LC.”
The public's awareness of post-viral sequelae has been heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, but infectious diseases experts have been aware of persisting symptoms following viral infections for more than a century. Post-influenza (an RNA virus) syndromes were first described following the 1918 influenza pandemic, including “encephalitis lethargica”, a relatively vague syndrome of “marked lethargy” often accompanied by neurological symptoms. Post-viral syndromes have been described following Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus (all DNA viruses), and measles (an RNA virus) infections, with chronic inflammation in the setting of elevated antibody titres to these viruses invoked as the pathophysiological mechanism.
A chart showing the rise of XFG.2 as a fraction of all samples from 2 New York City labs by week of collection. Combined fractions are 0.006 in 2025 Week 7, 0 in Week 8, 0.006 in Week 9, 0.005 in Week 10, 0.005 in Week 11, 0.004 in Week 12, 0.036 in Week 13, 0.035 in Week 14, 0.067 in Week 15, 0.114 in Week 16, 0.141 in Week 17, 0.207 in Week 18, 0.272 in Week 19, 0.306 in Week 20, 0.367 in Week 21, and 0.438 in Week 22. Week 7 began on February 9, and Week 22 began on May 25. The lines for the individual labs have more noise but are generally consistent with the combined line especially in later weeks.
Long COVID risks after 1, 2, and 3 or more infections from Kuang et al
Figure 1 from Ewing et al: 10-30% Long COVID 50% (even as high as 70%) organ damage (both children and adults) Brain: loss of white and grey matter, disruption of blood-brain barrier, loss of learning/memory ability and cognition, autonomic nervous system, ischaemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease Heart: Reduced blood oxygen, disruption of chronically inflamed atherosclerotic plaques, infection of coronary vessels, ischaemia, heart attack Endocrine system: direct effects on tissues through ACE2 binding, type 1 and 2 diabetes, Cushing’s syndrome, thyroid disease, reproductive hormone changes, fertility, disrupted menstrual cycle, adrenal insufficiency Immune system: T-cells, B-cells, dendritic cells, monocytes, platelets Endothelial cells and blood vessels: Formation of microthrombi (microclots), effects on all major organ systems: lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, muscle
A graphic of Long COVID symptoms in children by age group