From Semmelweis to Today: Are We Repeating History With Long Covid?

For over 175 years, the story of Ignaz Semmelweis has stood as a cautionary tale of medical negligence: a doctor who discovered that simple handwashing could prevent countless deaths in maternity wards. Ignored, ridiculed, forgotten - Semmelweis died aged 47 in a mental asylum after proving that hand washing saved lives. Today, Britain may be repeating history.  Five years after Covid, Long Covid patients, many of them working-age adults, struggle with fatigue, brain fog and chronic illness, while the NHS cuts specialist clinics and turns a blind eye to the scientific evidence of persistent viral infections.  The pattern is familiar: science dismissed, patients abandoned, consequences mounting. Could Long Covid be the modern equivalent of the Semmelweis scandal - a preventable crisis dismissed until too late?

                     What is Long Covid?

The NHS defines Long Covid as:

“Signs and symptoms that develop during or after an infection consistent with Covid-19, continue for more than 12 weeks, and are not explained by an alternative diagnosis.”  

Other causes should be ruled out before diagnosing Long Covid.

Long Covid symptoms can include: fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, brain fog, muscle/joint pain, sleep problems and more.  Long Covid can affect adults, children and young people.  Long Covid is not just lingering symptoms for a few weeks, but persistent, multi-system illness lasting months and even years. 

Five years after the pandemic, a University of Southampton analysis of NHS England patient survey data, revealed that one in ten patients thought they might have Long Covid, but weren’t sure. A Reuters survey in 2025 estimated around 2 million people in the UK are suffering from Long Covid.  This has major implications for employers and the economy. 

                   What The Science Says

Emerging studies indicate that Long Covid may involve viral and bacterial reactivation, immune dysregulation and retrovirus-like behaviour. Retroviruses integrate into host DNA as part of their life cycle.  HIV is the most well-known example. The key point about viruses that behave like retroviruses is that they drive persistence of infection and inflammation. Many practitioners will be familiar with the efficacy of anti-retroviral strategies in successfully addressing Lyme and co-infections.

Several studies have documented the reactivation of latent viruses like Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and herpesviruses in patients with persistent post Covid symptoms. Evidence also shows a malfunctioning or suppressed immune system, including reduced CD8+ T cells and Natural Killer cell function (frontline soldiers in the immune army).  

  Landmark Studies on Long Covid Mechanisms

Zhang L. et al. (2021) Showed Sars Cov-2 can be integrated into the human genome, suggesting retrovirus-like persistence (Sars Cov-2 is the virus causing Covid).

Wang Q. et al. (2022) Found persistent Sars Cov-2 RNA and altered gene expression in patients with Long Covid.

Gold JE et al.(2021) Reported evidence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation in Long Covid patients, correlating with fatigue and neurological symptoms.

Su Y et al.(2022) Large study which showed herpesvirus reactivation (EBV, HHV-6) and immune dysregulation  as risk factors for Long Covid.

Phetsouphanh C. et al. (2022) Documented immune suppression, including reduced CD8+ T cells and Natural killer cells in patients with persistent Long Covid symptoms.

Chertow D. et al. (2022) Autopsy study demonstrating Sars Cov-2 viral RNA persisting across multiple tissues for months after acute infection.

Together, these studies, and others like them, provide a solid scientific argument that Long Covid is driven by a mix of viral persistence, reactivation of latent (sleeping) pathogens, and immune dysfunction. This is similar to other chronic infection syndromes like Lyme and co-infections, CFS, ME and stealth infections. A stealth infection is a persistent infection in which a pathogen (virus, bacterium or fungus) remains in the body at low or hidden levels, often evading detection by the immune system and conventional diagnostic tests, quietly persisting under the radar, creating immune chaos and inflammation.

        The NHS Approach To Long Covid

The official NHS approach to Long Covid does not treat it as a stealth infection despite the fact that there are many scientific papers that point to that being the case.

While NHS guidance frames Long Covid as a post-viral condition, the NHS focus is on symptom management (fatigue, breathlessness, psychological health) not finding and treating the underlying causes.  At a time when Long Covid clinics are being wound down and treatment shifted back to GPs, both clinics and GPs are being advised to screen for other treatable conditions. This is a sensible first step because multiple conditions can certainly exist in the same patient. 

However, stealth or chronic infections are not part of official diagnostic pathways.  For more information on the difficulties of NHS tests detecting chronic persistent infections, please see my blog (on the clinic website) Falling Through The Cracks With Standard NHS Infection Tests.

         Long Covid: Clinical Observations

Over the last few years, I have seen a lot of patients with worsening chronic fatigue symptoms.  Most recall having had Covid, many only mildly.  However, my patient statistics suggest that even those who had mild Covid can later experience worsening conditions and symptoms. Below is a short summary of my clinical findings in chronic fatigue patients ranging from 18 to 80 years old: 

*100% of patients tested positive for one or more current stealth infections. The most common infections seen in lab results were: EBV, Coxsackievirus, Strep, Lyme, Varicella Zoster (shingles).  Less common but still prevalent were: Mycoplasma, Bartonella, Chlamydia pneumonaie, Babesia, Rickettsia, Candida. 

*100% of patients were found to have some kind of chronic immune dysregulation or suppression i.e. depleted immune soldiers which makes controlling infections much harder.

*100% of patients had one or more predisposing factors which are known to keep chronic infections and immune dysregulation going. These included: inflammatory food choices (sugar feeds infection), dental pathology (silent infections, root canals, mercury fillings being most common), heavy wifi exposure, poor sleep patterns, digestive problems, poor detoxification, other toxic exposures. 

*Around 95% of patients tested positive to IgA antibodies to Sars Cov-2, suggesting recent or ongoing infection with Sars Cov-2.   Some of the antibodies have been extremely high.

*Around 80% of patients tested positive for the ongoing presence of Spike Protein in the body. Spike Protein is the part of Sars Cov-2 that allows the virus to enter the cells. If it hangs around in the body, it can mean that the virus - or pieces of it - are still triggering the immune system and causing ongoing symptoms.

        Something Can Be Done About It

Functional Medicine is a patient-centered approach to healthcare that seeks to find and address the root causes of disease.  A stable datum of the Functional Medicine model is that you must find and address the root causes of a condition, otherwise that condition will keep coming back, no matter what the treatments given. 

So what should you do if you are still struggling with your health post-Covid?  

1.Health investigations with the NHS to rule out other conditions whose symptoms may overlap with Long Covid: Full blood count, liver/kidney function, HbA1c (blood sugar), ANA (autoimmune), Vitamin D3, Lipid profile, cardiac markers (NT pro BNP for heart failure etc.), Imaging (MRI, CT, ultrasound).

2.If NHS results are “normal” and you are not getting better, you will probably have to go outside the NHS to get chronic infections, immune dysfunction and spike protein status investigated.

3.Your results will then indicate the steps needed to navigate your way back to health. This is likely to include immune modulation, addressing infections and removing the factors causing inflammation. It needs to be tailor made programme, not a “one size fits all” protocol to work. 

Just as Ignaz Semmelweis was dismissed despite proving that hand hygiene could prevent deadly infections and save lives, the NHS has downplayed evidence linking Long Covid to persistent viral and bacterial activity. Ignoring these biological causes and scaling back specialised clinics, potentially leaves thousands of Britons with chronic illness and ruined lives.

If you suspect you have Long Covid and would like help with this, please get in touch with the Good Health Clinic on goodhealthclinic@outlook.com to request a free 30 minute Enquiry Call or book an appointment. Please note that an Enquiry call is not a consultation but an exploratory call to see if this is a clinical approach you wish to pursue.To your very good health, 

Suzanne Jeffery (Nutritional Medicine Consultant)

M.A.(Oxon), BSc.(NMed), PGCE, GNC, BSEM, MNNA, CNHC

The Good Health Clinic at The Business Centre, 2, Cattedown Road, Plymouth PL4 0EG

Tel no: 07836 552936/ Answer phone: 01752 774755 

Disclaimer:

All advice given out by Suzanne Jeffery and the Good Health Clinic is for general guidance and informational purposes only.  All advice relating to other health professionals’ advice is for general guidance and information purposes only. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information provided with other sources.  Patients and consumers should review the information carefully with their professional health care provider. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by other practitioners and physicians. Suzanne Jeffery and the Good Health Clinic will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary or other damages arising therefrom.