Viruses and chlamydia species are intracellular parasites, which are difficult to treat when hidden inside a cell or pathogen.  The covid-19 pandemic has the potential to generate discoveries, and provide better and more efficient methods to diagnose pathogens.  It could lead to new antiviral medications against many types of viruses; better understanding of the role of co-infections (bacterial/bacteria or bacterial/viral); and lead to greater research into infectious causes of chronic disease, to determine best practices for treatment and avoiding antibiotic resistance.

Testing more broadly and routinely for intracellular pathogens in many chronic diseases could lead to a better understanding of the role of infectious pathogens, and the impact of co-infection with multiple immortal, intracellular pathogens, in causing chronic disease.