Coronavirus: Are women and children less affected? (BBC)
Coronavirus: Are women and children less affected?
BBC
By James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent
8pm est
Women seem to be less likely to die from coronavirus than men; and children appear to be less likely to die than other age groups.
What's saving women's lives?
You might be surprised there's a difference between men and women's death rates from coronavirus, but scientists aren't. We see the same effect in a wide range of infections including flu. Part of the answer is men are generally in worse health than women due to lifestyle choices like smoking. "Smoking damages your lungs, that's not going to be a winner," says Dr MacDermott. This may be a particular problem in the China where estimates suggest 52% of men in smoke compared with just 3% of women.... there are also differences in the way the immune systems of men and women respond to infection.
"Women have intrinsically different immune responses to men, women are more likely to suffer from auto-immune diseases and there is good evidence that women produce better antibodies to vaccines against flu," says Prof Paul Hunter, from the University of East Anglia.
Can children get coronavirus and what are the symptoms?
Yes they can catch coronavirus, the youngest cases have been only days old.
There is very limited information on the symptoms of Covid-19 in children, but they appear to be mild - fever, runny nose and a cough.
..in childhood our immune systems are immature and they tend to overreact, it is why fevers (a high temperature) are so common. An immune system going into overdrive is always a bad thing because it can damage the rest of the body and is one of the reasons coronavirus can be deadly.
"You'd expect it to go haywire and it's not doing that," said Dr MacDermott.
"There must be something this virus does that is not as readily stimulating the immune system in children, but what that is is unclear.”
Why is coronavirus deadly at all?
The coronavirus starts with a fever and a cough, these are symptoms many of us will deal with at winter. But the virus can cause the immune system to over-react. One of the more severe symptoms is acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by widespread inflammation in the lungs.
...It leaves the lungs unable to get enough oxygen in and carbon dioxide out of the blood. It can stop the kidneys from cleaning the blood and damage the lining of your intestines.
Dr Pankhania adds: "The virus sets up such a huge degree of inflammation that you succumb... it becomes multi-organ failure."
Why are older people dying?
This is a combination of two things - a weaker immune system in the first place and a body less able to cope. We know our immune system gets weaker with age.
More here
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51774777
= new reply since forum marked as read
