By Dr. Pran Rangan
Rice Business Report
Risk Factors for Covid-19 Infection
Covid-19 is an acronym of coronavirus disease 2019. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are
common throughout the world. They can cause respiratory illness in people and animals. This particular
one originated in China at the end of 2019 in the city of Wuhan. In the past two decades, coronavirus
outbreaks have caused global concern, including one in 2003 with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) and more recently in 2012 with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
Covid-19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 that can trigger what doctors call a respiratory tract infection.
It can affect the upper respiratory tract, viz. sinuses, nose, and throat or lower respiratory tract, viz.
windpipe, and lungs. Severe cases can lead to serious respiratory disease, and even pneumonia.
On January 30, 2020, the WHO declared the Covid-19 outbreak a global health emergency. On March 11,
2020, the WHO declared it a global pandemic
Risk factors -
The following are the risk factors that are likely to predispose the people to Covid-19 infection
Age 65 years and older -
People, who are 65 years and older, are at a higher risk of Covid-19 infection due to their decreased immunity.
They are more likely to have some associated co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, chronic
kidney disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Also, the course of disease tends to be more
severe in them resulting in higher mortality. However, its transmission among the elderly population can
be reduced by taking appropriate preventive measures
Chronic lung disease and asthma -
People with asthma are more likely to catch Covid-19. The hospital data shows that respiratory patients
are more likely to experience severe complications. As there is still no cure for it, the best action that
people can take is to protect themselves from infection. The same is the case with other chronic lung disease
Serious heart conditions -
Covid-19 causes direct damage to the lungs and triggers an inflammatory response, which places stress
on the cardiovascular system in two ways, viz. by infecting the lungs the blood oxygen levels drop and
the inflammatory effects of the virus itself cause the blood pressure to drop as well. In such cases, the
heart must beat faster and harder to supply oxygen to major organs. Continued On Page 3……….
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