By Tommaso
Ebhart, MILAN Italy
More than
99% of Italy’s coronavirus fatalities were people who suffered from previous
medical conditions, according to a study by
the country’s national health authority.
After deaths from the virus reached
more than 2,500, with a 150% increase in the past week, health authorities have
been combing through data to provide clues to help combat the spread of the
disease.
Prime
Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government is evaluating whether to extend a
nationwide lockdown beyond the beginning of April, daily La Stampa reported Wednesday. Italy has more than 31,500
confirmed cases of the illness.
The new study could provide insight into why Italy’s death rate, at
about 8% of total infected people, is higher than in other countries.
The Rome-based institute has examined medical records of about 18% of
the country’s coronavirus fatalities, finding that just three victims, or 0.8%
of the total, had no previous pathology. Almost half of the victims suffered
from at least three prior illnesses and about a fourth had either one or two
previous conditions.
More than 75% had high blood pressure,
about 35% had diabetes and a third suffered from heart disease.
The median age of the infected is 63
but most of those who die are older
The average
age of those who’ve died from the virus in Italy is 79.5. As of March 17, 17
people under 50 had died from the disease. All of Italy’s victims under 40 have
been males with serious existing medical conditions.
While data released Tuesday point
to a slowdown in the increase of cases, with a 12.6% rise, a separate study
shows Italy could be underestimating the real number of cases by testing only
patients presenting symptoms.
According to the GIMBE Foundation,
about 100,000 Italians have contracted the virus, daily Il Sole 24 Ore
reported. That would bring back the country’s death rate closer to the global
average of about 2%. - Bloomberg
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