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The long Covid problem might be bigger than we thought. A large study has revealed that one in three Covid-19 survivors have suffered symptoms three to six months after getting infected, with breathing problems, abdominal symptoms such as abdominal pain, change of bowel habit and diarrhoea, fatigue, pain, anxiety and depression among the most common issues reported. (Kottasova and Friend, 9/29)

Mild cases of COVID-19 could also leave a lasting impact on the human brain, according to a recent study. In August, researchers from England's University of Oxford and the Imperial College of London wrote that brain imaging from the UK Biobank – including the data from more than 40,000 people in the United Kingdom, dating back to 2014 – showed differences in gray matter thickness between those who had been infected with COVID-19 and those who had not. (Musto, 9/29)

Two new studies, one in China and one in the United Kingdom, detail persistent COVID-19 symptoms months to a year after acute illness. Today, in JAMA Network Open, Chinese researchers describe "long COVID" symptoms of fatigue, sweating, chest tightness, anxiety, and muscle pain among 2,433 COVID-19 survivors released from one of two hospitals in Wuhan, China, from Feb 12 to Apr 10, 2020. (Van Beusekom, 9/29)

Seven COVID-19 symptoms can maximize detection of COVID-19 in the community, according to a large study published in PLOS Medicine yesterday that looked at data from England's REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission-1 (REACT-1) study. ... By modeling COVID-19 positivity predictability on seven symptoms—loss or change of smell, loss or change of taste, fever, new persistent cough, chills, appetite loss, and muscle aches—the researchers found a 0.75 area under the curve (AUC) for rounds 2 through 7 and a 0.77 AUC for round 8. (9/29)

Type 1 diabetes in those over 40 years of age is linked with higher COVID-related hospitalization risk, while type 2 diabetes is associated with higher mortality in COVID-hospitalized patients, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism and data presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting, respectively. (9/29)

As international travel begins opening up more, with the U.S. set to relax restrictions for vaccinated travelers from 33 countries in November, more travelers will dig into in-flight meals. A recent medical study by a group at the University of Greenwich in London finds a 59% higher risk of viral transmission during a one-hour meal service on a 12-hour trip compared with staying fully masked for the whole flight. (McCartney, 9/29)

Demand for the tests has surged in recent months, as the highly infectious Delta variant has spread and schools and offices have reopened. “All the manufacturers are ramping up production, but right now they can be hard to find,” said Gigi Gronvall, a testing expert at Johns Hopkins University. Although rapid tests have their limitations, they are an important public health tool, experts said, particularly if you know how to use them. (9/29)