Studying macaques, EARA member, the Biomedical Primate Research Centre, Netherlands, has discovered the hidden long-term effects Covid-19 can have on the body.

The team investigated the symptoms exhibited by the monkeys after initial infection, as macaques have been regularly used as a reliable model for research into the virus.

Macaques that only had a mild exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus showed no obvious signs of infection, such as a fever, however a closer investigation revealed that even these monkeys had evidence of lung damage, and active virus in the lymph nodes of the animals.

In results published in the journal Viruses, the scientists suggest that long Covid-19 symptoms could be explained by the presence of the virus in organs after the infection has passed, leading to continued activity of the immune system.