99% of Italy’s coronavirus fatalities had other previous illnesses: study shows
ITALY (A.P) – The the population sampled by health authorities showed the following. Almost half of the victims suffered from at least 3 previous illnesses, a quarter had one or two previous conditions, and more than 75% suffered from high blood pressure.
More than 99 percent of deaths from the new coronavirus in Italy were among people with previous medical conditions, according to a study by the country’s national health authority.
After deaths from the virus reached more than 2,500, a jump of 150 percent in the past week, health officials have been analyzing the data to extract useful information to combat the spread of the disease.
The government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is analyzing the possibility of prolonging the nationwide confinement beyond early April, La Stampa newspaper reported Wednesday. Italy has more than 31,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The new study could provide an idea of why Italy’s death rate, at about 8 percent of the total number of people infected, is higher than in other countries.
The Rome Health Institute examined the medical records of about 18 percent of the country’s deaths from COVID-19 and found that only three victims, or 0.8 percent of the total, had no previous pathology. Almost half of the victims suffered from at least three previous illnesses, and about a quarter had one or two previous conditions.
More than 75 percent had high blood pressure, about 35 percent had diabetes, and about one-third had heart disease.
The average age of those who died from the virus in Italy is 79.5. As of March 17, 17 people under age 50 had died from the disease. All of the victims in Italy under age 40 have been men with existing serious medical conditions.
Data released yesterday, Tuesday March 25 2020 point to a slowdown in the increase of cases, with a 12.6 percent increase, another study shows that Italy may be underestimating the actual number of cases by testing only patients with symptoms.
According to the GIMBE Foundation, around 100,000 Italians have contracted the virus, reported Il Sole 24 Ore. That would bring the country’s death rate close to the world average of about 2 percent.
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