Elderly people may be more at risk of developing severe illness from Covid-19

A global team of scientists has suggested that older individuals seem to be at higher risk of developing severe illness from Covid-19.

In its latest report, a joint mission of the World Health Organization (WHO) and China, found that individuals more than 60 years old and those with underlying conditions are at higher risk of critical illness and death from Covid-19.

The scientists travelled across mainland China, which has 90% of the total cases worldwide.

The data shows the highest death rate of 14.8% among people more than 80 years old. Patients who reported having retired had the highest case fatality rate (CFR) at 8.9%, or nearly nine out of every 100 people diagnosed.

Patients who had no underlying ailments had better chances of recovery, showing a fatality rate of 1.4%. A fatality rate of 13.2% was recorded for those with cardiovascular disease, 9.2% for diabetes, 8.4% for hypertension, 8% for chronic respiratory disease and 7.6% for cancer.

The probability of severe infections was found to be more among men than women, a trend that baffles scientists. In mainland China, the death rate among men (4.7%) was found to be double that of women (2.8%). Pregnant women did not appear to be at higher risk of severe disease.

“This is a trend we have been seeing across all countries, (and it) could hold the same for India too. But, in case of China, it could also be linked to high level of smoking,” said G. Arunkumar, head, Manipal Institute of Virology.

Children appeared to be relatively safe, with mostly “rare and mild” infections, and less probability of transmitting infections. The risk also appeared significantly lower for youngsters, as only 2.4% of the total reported patients were 19 years old or younger. Further, only 0.2% of them developed a critical disease.

“Older people tend to have a compromised immune system, which could render them susceptible. However, we have no clear answers. It is a very fluid situation, but it looks certain that there would be more cases as it spreads for sometime,” said Dr Shobha Broor, a New Delhi- based virologist.

The team also found that the virus is being transmitted largely via droplets and fomites (contaminated objects) during close unprotected contact with an infected person.

People take on an average five to six days to show the symptoms. At least 87% of infected cases show fever as the most common symptom, followed by dry cough in 67% of cases and fatigue in 38% of them. Some patients also suffered from shortness of breath (18.6%), sore throat (13.9%), headache (13.6%) and chills (11.4%).