Recruitment is underway for an Adelaide-based study that could help produce the world’s first diagnostic test for long Covid.
The million-dollar study is co-funded by The Hospital Research Foundation Group (THRFG), The University of Adelaide and the Australian Government through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and builds on earlier research also supported by THRFG.
Currently, no single test exists to diagnose long Covid, leaving millions of people worldwide struggling for answers.
However, a landmark discovery by South Australian researchers has identified a potential biomarker for long Covid, raising hopes that a future diagnostic test might not be far away.
The multidisciplinary team, led by University of Adelaide Associate Professor Branka Grubor-Bauk and Professor Simon Barry, were among the first in the world to show that Covid-19 can disrupt the immune system long after the initial infection.
“Our study was one of the first in the world to show that the immune system remains dysfunctional even six months after you’ve had Covid-19,” said A/Prof Grubor-Bauk
“When we looked at it in depth, we saw that the people with the most severe dysfunction were those who later developed long Covid.”
“Thanks to the funding from THRFG and MRFF we are now recruiting long Covid patients to validate our biomarker,” Professor Barry said.
“We will be working closely with SA Pathology as a partner to translate our findings into a reliable diagnostic test.”
A/Prof Grubor-Bauk said this test would be a major breakthrough for patients struggling with long Covid.
The difficulty in getting diagnosed
Without a national registry, it’s difficult to know just how prevalent long Covid is in Australia.
However, for about five per cent of patients, symptoms will persist beyond three months after infection.
This can include persistent fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, chest pain, joint and muscle aches, sleep disturbances and difficulty concentrating.
With more than 200 symptoms now linked to long Covid, diagnosis remains difficult, especially as many symptoms overlap with other conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome.
Instead of confirming long Covid directly, doctors must rule out other causes through a complex and often frustrating process for the patients.
“Because there’s no test that can clearly diagnose the disease, it can take multiple GP visits and a battery of tests,” A/Prof Grubor-Bauk said.
“Patients go through a long process of elimination, which adds stress to what’s already a difficult situation. It is complicated and presents very differently in each person.”
Long Covid typically lasts three to four months, but each case is different with some patients still experiencing symptoms more than a year later. It can affect people of all ages, regardless of how severe their initial Covid-19 infection was.
How you can get involved
Associate Professor Mark Plummer.
Recruitment is being led by Associate Professor Mark Plummer through the Long Covid Assessment Clinic at the Royal Adelaide Hospital but is also open to people in the wider community.
Participants will be asked to provide a blood sample and complete a questionnaire about their long Covid experience.
The team will follow-up with patients and if symptoms resolve, an additional blood sample will be collected to assess whether the biomarker has also disappeared.
If you have been diagnosed with long Covid and would like to take part in the study, please call or text 0418 890 857.
We look forward to sharing the progress of this exciting research.
