Health authorities around the world are scrambling to assess risk factors and how best to contain the virus.
A Chinese study recently published in Lancet shines some light on who might be most at risk, although Auckland microbiologist Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles has sounded a note of caution about the results. Wiles, who specialises in immunology, says the study was helpful but the low number of patients involved in the research and the fact it was conducted early on in the outbreak meant that it may not be wholly indicative.
The study involved 191 patients in Wuhan, China, of which 54 died while in hospital. The main risk factors for contracting the virus were:
- Middle-aged (median 56) and male (62 percent), although those who died were older – averaging 69 years.
- People suffering from conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes were more likely to have severe reactions to the virus, as were those who showed signs of sepsis, issues around blood clotting, and markers for susceptibility to heart attacks.
The research concluded those with weakened immune systems either from existing chronic conditions or because of age were the most vulnerable. People who are already being treated for cancer and chronic respiratory diseases were also likely to find it more difficult to cope with the virus.
The majority of people worldwide who have died from COVID-19 had pre-existing medical conditions and health organisations are advising people in this group to take precautionary measures like not attending large gatherings or visiting busy places like shopping malls and supermarkets.
Most people who contract COVID-19 only experience relatively mild symptoms. Interestingly young children seem to have the highest immunity – in China only 2.4 percent of reported cases were children, and of these only 0.2 percent became critically ill. Generally viruses of this type target the very young and the old and researchers are hoping that the fact that children have such low risk factors may help them to understand more about the spread of COVID-19 and how to treat it.
