PRESS RELEASE no. 10/2022 - Long-COVID: The ISS has launched its surveillance project. Among the objectives is a map of the Surveillance Centres

ISS, 9 February 2022

The aim of the CCM project is to monitor the long-term effects of the SARS-CoV2 infection in order to gather data about the infection and standardize the approach and clinical management at a national level. The CCM project entitled "Analysis and response strategies to the long-term effects of the COVID-19 infection (Long-COVID)" is funded by the Ministry of Health, and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità is the lead partner. The project will be presented today, 9 February 2022, at the webinar "Long COVID: ready to face the present and future impact of the pandemic?", organized online by the ISS.

“We now know that if the symptoms still persist at four weeks after the infection and the test is negative - said Silvio Brusaferro, President of the ISS - we are faced with a condition that is today classified as Long-COVID. Knowledge about Long-COVID is still the subject of numerous investigations, and this project is aimed at gaining greater insight into this condition. The initiative, launched by the Ministry of Health, is designed to measure, recognize and deal with this disorder through the establishment of a national surveillance network of interconnected Clinical Centres that will be able to share "best practices". A map of these Centres will be drawn up.

 “Physical fatigue, in some cases also mental distress (i.e. memory problems and difficulty concentrating), loss of smell and taste, but also headache and stress as well as cardio-respiratory difficulties are some of the persistent symptoms associated with COVID-19 that are present even after recovering from the disorder - explained Graziano Onder, Director of the Department of Cardiovascular, Dysmetabolic and Aging Diseases of the ISS and coordinator of the project. These symptoms are associated with the condition now known as Long-COVID. It is not yet clear whether they are a consequence of the damage caused 'upstream' by the virus to our organs, or by the immune response also triggered by the virus but then "diverted" against organs and tissues. The project we are presenting today will help us first of all to increase our knowledge of the phenomenon and will constitute the basis from which to start for more targeted and more uniform treatment".

The project

The project will last two years and will involve the following organizations in three Regions (Friuli Venezia Giulia, Tuscany, Apulia): ARS Toscana, Aress Puglia, Friuli Centrale University Health Authority, Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation Network (IRCCS network), Aging Network (IRCCS network), Cardiological Network Association (IRCCS network), Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. The project will pursue five specific objectives:

1. define the dimensions of the Long-COVID phenomenon through an analysis of regional data flows and data from general practitioners;
2. define the number, characteristics and distribution across the national territory of Long-COVID centres. In this regard, the ISS will carry out a census of the Long-COVID diagnosis and care centers through existing networks (IRCCS and networks of hospitals that already participate in the surveillance of COVID-19 deaths coordinated by the ISS) , and through the Regions involved in the project;
3. define best practices in terms of Long-COVID, with the aim of applying uniform diagnostic and treatment protocols and of standardizing the services provided throughout the Country.
4. Set up a Long-COVID surveillance system. An actual surveillance system will be built through data sets, clinical centres, development of an IT platform, production of periodic reports;
5. Set up a national network. The information collected as part of the census includes acceptance to participate in a national network, with periodic workshops or webinars that will provide information and updates.