Study claims two-thirds of Covid-19 patients have lung damage

Nearly two-thirds of coronavirus hospital patients are still suffering organ damage months after being discharged, a small study has warned.

Oxford University experts found 60 per cent of patients had scarring or inflammation in their lungs three months after beating the virus.

MRI scans showed 30 per cent had lasting damage to their kidney, 26 per cent their heart and 10 per cent their liver. The Covid survivors also showed signs of tissue changes in parts of their brain, and performed poorer in cognitive and physical tests. 

Two-thirds suffered from persistent breathlessness and 55 per cent showed signs of mental and physical fatigue.  

The study of 58 Covid-19 survivors adds to the growing concern about the health and wellbeing of people who manage to beat a bad bout of the disease.

As many as 60,000 people in the UK are thought to be suffering from so-called 'Long Covid', which the NHS officially recognised as a condition earlier this month and began drawing up guidelines for doctors on how to treat it.