A new study published in the journal Cortex suggest that long Covid could result in a condition called prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness
The World Health Organisation defines long Covid as the continuation or development of new symptoms 3 months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, with these symptoms lasting for at least 2 months with no other explanation
People suffering from face blindness are unable to recognise familiar faces. Prosopagnosia has been estimated to affect between 2 and 2.5 per cent of people world over
Some people suffering from long Covid could fail to recognise faces even those of close family members. The new study focused on the case of Annie, a 28-year-old woman in the US
Annie, a 28-year-old customer service representative and part-time portrait artist in the US, was diagnosed with Covid-19 in March 2020 and suffered a symptom relapse two months later
Annie was not even able to recognise her father when she passed him at a restaurant. She said that it was as if she heard her dad's voice out of a stranger's face
The researchers stated that Annie was relying heavily on people's voices for identification purposes. She told the researchers that 'faces are like water in my head'
Annie also suffered from navigational deficits. She complained of finding it difficult to navigate through a grocery store, remember directions to recently visited places or even locate a parked car
The researchers stated that Annie's results indicate that Covid-19 can produce severe and selective neuropsychological impairment similar to deficits seen following brain damage