Coronavirus Precautions and Information

Coronavirus – Men Vulnerable than Women

The deadly coronavirus which initiated in Wuhan, China, has been infecting more men than women. According to a recent research it was observed that almost 140 patients of coronavirus had affected older men with earlier ailments. It was also found that over 54% of the patients were men in the average age of 56.

It was observed from a study conducted at Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital of 99 coronavirus patients that the average patients belonged to the age group of 55.5 years with men representing about 68% of the overall cases. Another research on 1,100 patients indicated an average age for men of 47 with 58% in all these situations. Researchers are now of the opinion that men tend to have some biological conditions making them more vulnerable to the virus, though the others are still uncertain about the same.

Risky with Age

To obtain a better understanding in the absence of trustworthy data with regards to the new disease of coronavirus, researchers are now looking for clues with severe acute respiratory syndrome - SARS pandemic from 2002 to 2003 which seemed to be an identical outbreak in China.

 According to Michael Mina, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, commented that COVID-19 disease seems to be more risky with age. From the Journal of the American Medical Association published, it was observed that with the first 45,000 cases in China, around 80% of the cases that had been reported had been very mild.

The remaining 20% diagnosed seemed to be moderate, critical or severe cases. These comprised of heavy breathing, pneumonia together with organ failure. According to the JAMA study, children between the ages of 1 – 9 fell in the 1% category with no reports of deaths.

CoronaVirus- Research under Speculation

Researchers also observed that with patients of 70 years, around 8% died with almost 15% of them belonging to the age of 80 and above. However a new research from Wuhan University observed that the share of male as well as female coronavirus in the ICU seemed to be the same with those of male and female patients in the other sections of the hospital.

It was concluded that the symptoms of men were not more severe than women. But the researchers acknowledged that the maximum number of the patients were men from the outbreak which was initiated at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, among male workers there.

Aaron Milestone, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University informed Business Insider that he is doubtful that one division of the inhabitants could be more susceptible than the other.

New-borns Not Affected with Coronavirus

According to Jeanne Marrazzo, MD director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, commented that people suffering from heart ailments, lung issue or diabetes could be at greater risk of the severe disease and also death.

She made a comparison of coronavirus to viral pneumonia, which is said to have a greater impact on individuals with a tendency of weaker immune system. With regards to pregnant women, so far only a few have been reported though this infection does not seem to have much effect on them.

A recently published study in The Lancet indicated that 9 women affected by coronavirus had not passed on the infection to their infants. Mina is of the opinion that the new-borns had not been affected by coronavirus. He commented that the number of babies died could have been extraordinarily small in comparison to the number probably revealed. He further added that they were not seeing clinical illness.

Researchers are perplexed as to why children seemed to be unaffected inspite of the fact they seem to be carriers of the diseases. According to him there could be a possibility that the bodies of the children were capable of handling the effects of the virus.

Another possibility could be that they could have the immunity of a previously related viral infection or it could be that the virus did not reproduce in them for unknown reasons.

Good Immune System to Combat Coronavirus Infection

According to Mina, the healthcare workers could also be at risk of getting affected by coronavirus. Their affection could be due to the possibility of treating the infected person, or without using proper protective gear while attending to the patients or due to the exposure without precautionary measures, being under the misconception that they were safe.

To be equipped to handle this disease, Marrazzo suggested that people should be aware of the updates with regards to coronavirus and its spread. They should take into consideration the measures in ensuring to remain as healthy as possible, obtain adequate rest, eat well, exercise regularly and above all get the flu vaccines.

She added further that one should be in good shape with good immune system to combat the infection. She stated that they were aware of people who seemed healthier, non-smokers and management of regular vaccines seemed to be beneficial when they visited the hospital for surgery and recovered quickly from it.

Timely Treatment – Beneficial

Being aware of those who may be vulnerable to the dreadful disease, could be helpful to communities in responding in a better way whenever they are affected. Mina commented that if an 80 year old with lung ailments is treated properly at the onset when affected, rather than to wait till their health seems to get worse.

He also stated that it would be better for those who seem to feel unwell, to restrain from going to work and self-quarantine themselves to avoid the spread of the disease through the community. Mina stated that he would prefer to have a home-based test similar to a pregnancy test, where individual would get to know if they were affected, without the need of visiting a clinic or hospital to diagnose the disease.

This would also be helpful in averting the spread of coronavirus. He also seemed concerned that U.S. is not adequately prepared to combat this disease and its spread to the various sections of the country.