Coronavirus: Who Is Particularly At Risk And Why? DW (News from Germany)

[appalachiablue]

DW (Deutsche Welle), March 11, 2020. "Coronavirus: Who is particularly at risk and why?"

Men, women and children are infected with the new coronavirus with equal frequency. But the consequences are very different. Decisive factors are age, gender and possible previous illnesses.

The new coronavirus will spread rapidly in the coming weeks and months and two-thirds of the population will be infected. This is unlikely to change when it warms up again and the classic cold or flu season comes to an end, according to Christian Drosten, the leading virologist at the Berlin Charité hospital.

However, the infection will take a mild course in most infected people. A majority of the population will already have formed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in autumn, when the next wave of colds comes.

- Why do older people in particular need to be protected?

Older people are particularly at risk, as the mortality rate increases exponentially from around 65 years of age. In China, for example, the mortality rate of infected people up to 40 years of age was 0.2%, but between 70 and 79 years of age the mortality rate is already 8%, and from 80 years of age the rate is 14.8%.

Accordingly, in the coming weeks and months, older people, in particular, must be protected, especially if they suffer from pre-existing conditions (see chart). This risk group should actually avoid crowds, concerts or club meetings.

Grandma and grandpa should definitely not be used to care for grandchildren in quarantine or similar exceptional situations. Instead, younger family members should bring elderly people's shopping home so that they can avoid unnecessary visits to the supermarket.

- Which previous illnesses increase the risk of corona infection?

Almost all deceased were already ill before their corona infection. According to a WHO analysis of the cases in China, older people with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer are particularly at risk.



- Why are men more frequently affected than women? According to WHO data, men die significantly more frequently than women from SARS-CoV-2. The death rate in China in mid-February was 2.8% for men and 1.7% for women. A similar distribution already existed in 2003 with the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong. And even a normal flu usually hits men harder than women.

The female immune system is more resistant than that of men. This is mainly due to the female sex hormone estrogen, which stimulates the immune system and thus fights pathogens faster and more aggressively. The male sex hormone testosterone, on the other hand, inhibits the immune system.

There are also "genetic reasons," according tomolecular virologist Thomas Pietschmann in an interview with DW. The reason is that "some immune-relevant genes, for example, genes responsible for recognizing pathogens, are encoded on the X chromosome. Because women have two X chromosomes and men have only one, women have an advantage here."...

Read More, https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-who-is-particularly-at-risk-and-why/a-52710881

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Thanks appalachiablue for sharing! Be safe and take care!

[appalachiablue]

2. Thanks & will do. You too!

[MaryMagdaline]

3. Good post with useful information - thanks

[question everything]

4. Scary. Both of us are seniors, but thanks.

[Igel]

5. Then you should be aware of a serious gap in the reporting.

It's all well and good for younger folk to bring your shopping home. But the reporting basically just tells young people to deliver the virus into your homes.

The virus will survive on surfaces, depending on the report, from 3 hrs to over 9 days. That means frequently disinfecting your hands while handing the stuff and removing from wrappers and such, and disposing of it as biohazards.

Wash vegetables well. Cooking will kill the virus.

[SharonAnn]

7. But that's one or two people as opposed to hundreds in a grocery store.

[question everything]

8. Well, earlier we did go to the grocery store and, yes, to COSTCO

yesterday to pick my prescriptions.. What a zoo..

For me it is a second nature to wipe the shopping cart all around, including he child seat. I suppose a cart provides the "3 ft social distance."

Also went to a restaurant, very few people. Just careful to wash our hands - yes, I do count to 20 - all over.

[appalachiablue]

6. There are many seniors here as you may know, so there's

plenty of company and info. around.

Stay well!

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Most breast cancers are estrogen "dependent"/linked.

for those, there are drugs which lower the estrogen level. The protocol is to stay on them for a few years

So there are lots of women walking around with medically induced menopause (which, btw, plays hell on one's joints)