'No long-term harm to athletes with mild coronavirus'

After recovery from a mild case of coronavirus, professional athletes should not face any major harm to their lungs, according to a Turkish physician.

"Considering how most athletes are younger than 30 or 40, and they have mild symptoms, we can project that this disease largely won’t impact their careers," Dr. Bahadir Ceylan, an infectious disease specialist at Medipol Mega University Hospital in Istanbul, told Anadolu Agency.

However Ceylan said that even though older people face the greatest risk from coronavirus, even young people age 20 or 30 could face mortal danger depending on the severity of this disease.

"Heavy or mild, the virus affects the lungs," said Ceylan.

RESPİRATORY TRACT İNFECTİONS

Ceylan said that in some severe cases – such as severe pneumonia – patients may face a loss of function in their lungs due to widespread inflammation, and people who have acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) should be taken to intensive care units for treatment.

He added that the mortality rate of some ARDS cases is around 50%.

"Even if these patients recover, they are very likely to suffer permanent loss of function in their lungs," he said.

His predictions are based on similar infectious disease, he said, as the novel coronavirus appeared just four months ago and research into it is still ongoing.

Coronavirus is like other respiratory tract infection diseases, and its effects vary from person to person, with some facing only mild symptoms, he said.

Others suffer it severely, as the infection may affect a large area of the lungs, and these patients may face serious lung problems and sometimes need mechanical ventilation to breathe.