Chronic disease

• patients enter the chronic stage of illness after 4 to 6 weeks of the acute illness
• symptomatic chronic infection may develop years (or even decades) after the initial infection in 10 to 30% of patients

Chronic infection may have the following complications:

• the heart:
  • biventricular enlargement
  • thinning of ventricular walls
  • apical aneurysms
  • mural thrombi
  • conduction abnormalities - right bundle-branch block, left anterior fascicular block, complete atrio- ventricular block
    
    
• gastrointestinal tract:
  • megaoesophagus, megacolon, megaduodenum
  • infection causes the destruction of the myenteric plexus, not only in the wall of the oesophagus but also in the duodenum, colon and ureter