Lung damage found in COVID dead may shed light on 'long COVID' - study

FILE PHOTO: An X-ray of a COVID-19 patient's lungs at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 10, 2020. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - A study of the lungs of people who have died from COVID-19 has found persistent and extensive lung damage in most cases and may help doctors understand what is behind a syndrome known as 'long COVID', in which patients suffer ongoing symptoms for months.

Scientists leading the research said they also found some unique characteristics of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which may explain why it is able to inflict such harm.