Communicable to Non-communicable Disease Pandemic in the Making: An Urgent Call for Post-COVID-19 Preparedness

Cureus. 2022 Jul 29;14(7):e27453. doi: 10.7759/cureus.27453. eCollection 2022 Jul.

Abstract

We have entered the third year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. If we look back, we can see how this pandemic caused a wide spectrum of disabilities and death worldwide. Moreover, COVID-19 is notorious for affecting multiple systems of our body leading to what we call "long-COVID". Many people are still suffering from persistent symptoms of long-COVID. Apart from respiratory complications, it is causing cardiac issues, renal failure, stroke, etc. Due to such multiple complications, the rate of disability and functional impairments has increased in the past two years following the beginning of this pandemic. Thus, an infectious disease/communicable disease such as COVID-19 is indirectly leading to increased incidence of several non-communicable diseases (cardiac, renal, neurological, etc.). In this scenario, urgent preparedness in all aspects is warranted to control such a situation.

Keywords: communicable & non communicable diseases; covid-19; covid-19 retro; public health care; public health preparedness.

Publication types

  • Editorial