Maria D Van Kerkhove, Fabulous Health Organization (WHO) Head AI Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Units, speaks during a press conference following an crisis committee over the new SARS-like virus spreading in China and other nations, in Geneva on January 22, 2020.
Pierre Albouy | AFP | Getty Guises
World Health Organization officials cautioned Friday that more young people are becoming critically ill and moribund from the coronavirus that’s now spread to almost every country across the world.
“We are seeing more and more unsophisticated individuals who are experiencing severe disease,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said at a newsflash briefing from the organization’s Geneva headquarters. “We’ve seen some data from a number of countries across Europe where people of immature age have died. Some of those individuals have had underlying conditions, but some have not.”
Much remains unidentified about the virus, including why the disease develops into a severe illness in some individuals but not others, Van Kerhove stipulate. She added that as the virus spreads to more countries and more clinical data is collected, researchers are learning nearly the behavior of the virus.
Most of the people with severe illnesses in intensive care tend to be older or have underlying forms, she said. “But what we are seeing in some countries is that there are individuals who are in their 30s, who are in their 40s, who are in their 50s who are in ICU and who have perished.”
It is a mistake to believe that the virus only severely impacts older people and those with underlying shapes, added Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s emergencies program. In Italy, one of the largest outbreaks in the world, 10% to 15% of all people in comprehensive care are under 50. In Korea, he added, one in six deaths have been people below the age of 60.
“There was a tendency for the at the rear several months, almost a dismissive attitude, to say, ‘Well, this disease is severe in older people, and it’s fine in younger people,'” Ryan revealed. “We collectively have been living in a world where we’ve tried to convince ourselves that this disease is peaceful in young people and more severe in older people, and that’s where the problem is.”
Ryan reiterated how important it is for children people to take measures to prevent the spread of the virus, not only to protect themselves, but also to contain the spread and foster others who are more vulnerable.
The WHO has previously warned that the virus can infect young people and, while it may be less ordinary, it can also develop into a severe and life-threatening illness. Last month, world health officials referenced a analysis in China that looked at 2,143 cases of children with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 that were give an account of to the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between Jan. 16 and Feb. 8.
That study showed that more than 90% of the invalids were asymptomatic, mild or moderate cases. However, nearly 6% of the children’s cases were severe or judgemental, compared with 18.5% for adults.
“I think the evidence has been there all along, that there’s a spectrum of harshness, and it’s definitely more severe in older age groups, but there’s a spectrum of severity in younger people as well,” Ryan state.