The aim of the study is to understand the impact of COVID-19 on People with Multiple Sclerosis in the United Kingdom.

Study objectives

1. To identify the incidence of upper respiratory tract symptoms: fever, cough and breathing difficulties, other symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 infection, respiratory tract infections suggestive of COVID-19, and COVID-19 confirmed by laboratory testing among the UK MS population
2. To establish if some DMDs increase the risk of COVID-19 infection
3. To determine the incidence and effectiveness of self-isolation in the MS population. To examine the impact self-isolation has on mood, fatigue, and other routinely collected patient reported outcome measures from the MS Register.
4. To determine the clinical outcome of respiratory tract infections, including confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19, in terms of symptoms, time to recovery, hospital admission, requirement for ventilation, and death.
5. To determine the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on MS, using routinely collected MS outcomes in the MS register, including impact on disability, relapses and changes in DMDs as assessed at 3 monthly intervals.
6. To determine where people are obtaining their health information during the COVID-19 outbreak.
7. To establish changes in DMDs prior to and as a result of symptoms related and unrelated to COVID-19

Inclusion Criteria:

• >18 and confirmed diagnosis of MS, enrolled on UK MS Register

Exclusion Criteria:

• None of the above

PwMS in the UK who self report as having MS, or have been recruited at a clinical site.

Given the potentially vulnerable nature of pwMS due to active drug treatment and their potential susceptibility to infection it is important to chart this population within the MS Register

Aggregate results will be published Line level data avaialble to other Researchers subject to Governance approval within Secure e-Research Platform