Coronavirus prep

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Replies

  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,394 Member
    Welcome back @snowflake954 . I have been wondering how things were in your area.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    They are talking letting him out of the hospital tomorrow. That would be really dumb to do. He needs to be in there longer for his own good.
  • SModa61
    SModa61 Posts: 2,829 Member
    SModa61 wrote: »
    oocdc2 wrote: »
    SModa61 wrote: »
    Ok, different topic and I am curious. Does anyone have the science behind the why africa has such low COVID numbers?

    According to this article, it leans towards populations already having SARS-CoV-2 and other related antibodies: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/pandemic-appears-have-spared-africa-so-far-scientists-are-struggling-explain-why

    @oocdc2 Thank you for sharing the article but confused by your statement. If I replace "it" and SARS-CoV-2" with their replacement noun "COVID", you would have written "COVID leans towards populations already having COVID". I am guessing I am missing what you were saying. :)

    @SModa61 Maybe I'm mistaken, but I think "it" is supposed to be "The reason why Africa has had such a low infection rate..."

    The reason Africa has had such low numbers is likely because many people had SARS-COV-2 and were not tested or reported. The article explains that antibodies have been found in a big enough percentage to indicate testing and reporting has failed.

    Having said that, I still wonder if the mortality rate was as bad, and how the large number of cases were not tested/reported if yes. If not, then why do populations in Africa have better outcomes? I doubt we will ever know.

    I think you solved my question and I think you are right. I even made my husband look at the sentence as it made no sense to me, but I was certain there was something I was missing. Thanks a lot. Pronouns can be tricky!
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    He took Dexamethasone, which I've read can have serious side effects. 26% of people that were given this died. It's not the kind of drug you just hand out. That means, to me, they have to be concerned enough to have done this.

    I haven't even stayed at a Holiday Inn Express :smiley: but what I'm seeing from doctors who use dexamethasone, it cannot be true both that he was treated with the steroid AND will be released tomorrow. So either he didn't get dexamethasone or he is not close to being released. It sounds like it is a dangerous treatment to give unless absolutely necessary, and that would be assumed to be a severe case involving serious lung inflammation, not something you just throw in to cover all your bases, right?

    My understanding is there is a third option because there is a medical unit in the WH, so they could "release" him from Walter Reed and move him there. For whatever reason, medical or otherwise.

    That was my thought, but it's incredibly risky. If he codes or goes South, they just aren't as equipped to help him. It's silliness.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,400 Member
    SModa61 wrote: »
    Ok, different topic and I am curious. Does anyone have the science behind the why africa has such low COVID numbers?

    As most know, I live in Italy. We have boatloads of African immigrants arriving constantly that wind up all over the country (trying to go to France, Germany, or Scandanavian countries, who don't want them, so we wind up with them). Upon arriving they are isolated and tested for COVID. The majority have it. However, as we have been told, the African population has a high percentage of young people. 99% of the immigrants are young males. So, I think COVID is prevalent in Africa, but not as deadly for a younger population.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    He took Dexamethasone, which I've read can have serious side effects. 26% of people that were given this died. It's not the kind of drug you just hand out. That means, to me, they have to be concerned enough to have done this.

    Maybe the side effect profile is different in Covid (could be), but I don't think Dexamethasone in general is all that dangerous. (I say this having taken quite a quantity of it for a period of time in my life, and having read/heard the cautions, as well as having a number of friends who've taken it). It has some side effects that can be pretty unpleasant, but not typically life threatening in itself, in my understanding.

    As an additional factor within the context of a severe Covid infection, it may have different potential for complications.

    Yes, it can be common treatment as outpatient for numerous lung issues especially for people who have lung issues. When my moms asthma gets bad, her doctor gives her a course of it to tone down the inflammation. Every time my aunt gets sick with a respiratory virus, she gets a 2 week course. I don't think being on the drug is dangerous enough by itself that it means he would have to stay in the hospital.
  • SModa61
    SModa61 Posts: 2,829 Member
    Goof Morning

    @jenilla1 I agree that we are all hearing lots of speculation and I will be curious what the reality will be.

    @Dnarules Thanks, that you be great if you can "trace" that article for me :p

    @snowflake954 Your thought that the age differential is a large part of why africa is not appearing to be as impacted by COVID, matches the article that @gisel2015 was kind enough to provide. I was totally shocked to read that the median age in certain african countries is 19 - 20 year old. Regardless of COVID, I cannot fathom a country where the majority of citizens are basically high school to college age.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,400 Member
    SModa61 wrote: »
    Goof Morning

    @jenilla1 I agree that we are all hearing lots of speculation and I will be curious what the reality will be.

    @Dnarules Thanks, that you be great if you can "trace" that article for me :p

    @snowflake954 Your thought that the age differential is a large part of why africa is not appearing to be as impacted by COVID, matches the article that @gisel2015 was kind enough to provide. I was totally shocked to read that the median age in certain african countries is 19 - 20 year old. Regardless of COVID, I cannot fathom a country where the majority of citizens are basically high school to college age.
    SModa61 wrote: »
    Goof Morning

    @jenilla1 I agree that we are all hearing lots of speculation and I will be curious what the reality will be.

    @Dnarules Thanks, that you be great if you can "trace" that article for me :p

    @snowflake954 Your thought that the age differential is a large part of why africa is not appearing to be as impacted by COVID, matches the article that @gisel2015 was kind enough to provide. I was totally shocked to read that the median age in certain african countries is 19 - 20 year old. Regardless of COVID, I cannot fathom a country where the majority of citizens are basically high school to college age.

    I laughed when you said "high school to college age". These guys arrive with no schooling at all. They expect that the Europeans will send them to school plus all the other necessities for life.
  • SModa61
    SModa61 Posts: 2,829 Member
    SModa61 wrote: »
    Goof Morning

    @jenilla1 I agree that we are all hearing lots of speculation and I will be curious what the reality will be.

    @Dnarules Thanks, that you be great if you can "trace" that article for me :p

    @snowflake954 Your thought that the age differential is a large part of why africa is not appearing to be as impacted by COVID, matches the article that @gisel2015 was kind enough to provide. I was totally shocked to read that the median age in certain african countries is 19 - 20 year old. Regardless of COVID, I cannot fathom a country where the majority of citizens are basically high school to college age.
    SModa61 wrote: »
    Goof Morning

    @jenilla1 I agree that we are all hearing lots of speculation and I will be curious what the reality will be.

    @Dnarules Thanks, that you be great if you can "trace" that article for me :p

    @snowflake954 Your thought that the age differential is a large part of why africa is not appearing to be as impacted by COVID, matches the article that @gisel2015 was kind enough to provide. I was totally shocked to read that the median age in certain african countries is 19 - 20 year old. Regardless of COVID, I cannot fathom a country where the majority of citizens are basically high school to college age.

    I laughed when you said "high school to college age". These guys arrive with no schooling at all. They expect that the Europeans will send them to school plus all the other necessities for life.

    Good point, bad phrasing on my part. I guess I am imaging the individuals as they would fit in my world.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    SModa61 wrote: »
    SModa61 wrote: »
    oocdc2 wrote: »
    SModa61 wrote: »
    Ok, different topic and I am curious. Does anyone have the science behind the why africa has such low COVID numbers?

    According to this article, it leans towards populations already having SARS-CoV-2 and other related antibodies: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/pandemic-appears-have-spared-africa-so-far-scientists-are-struggling-explain-why

    @oocdc2 Thank you for sharing the article but confused by your statement. If I replace "it" and SARS-CoV-2" with their replacement noun "COVID", you would have written "COVID leans towards populations already having COVID". I am guessing I am missing what you were saying. :)

    @SModa61 Maybe I'm mistaken, but I think "it" is supposed to be "The reason why Africa has had such a low infection rate..."

    The reason Africa has had such low numbers is likely because many people had SARS-COV-2 and were not tested or reported. The article explains that antibodies have been found in a big enough percentage to indicate testing and reporting has failed.

    Having said that, I still wonder if the mortality rate was as bad, and how the large number of cases were not tested/reported if yes. If not, then why do populations in Africa have better outcomes? I doubt we will ever know.

    I think you solved my question and I think you are right. I even made my husband look at the sentence as it made no sense to me, but I was certain there was something I was missing. Thanks a lot. Pronouns can be tricky!

    Here are relevant bits from the linked article -- basically, lot of theories, no concrete answer, I'd bet it's a combination of the things mentioned:

    "Scientists who surveyed about 10,000 people in the northeastern cities of Nampula and Pemba in Mozambique found antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in 3% to 10% of participants, depending on their occupation; market vendors had the highest rates, followed by health workers. Yet in Nampula, a city of approximately 750,000, a mere 300 infections had been confirmed at the time. Mozambique only has 16 confirmed COVID-19 deaths. Yap Boum, a microbiologist and epidemiologist with Epicentre Africa, the research and training arm of Doctors Without Borders, says he found a high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in people from Cameroon as well, a result that remains unpublished.

    So what explains the huge gap between antibody data on the one hand and the official case and death counts on the other? Part of the reason may be that Africa misses many more cases than other parts of the world because it has far less testing capacity. Kenya tests about one in every 10,000 inhabitants daily for active SARS-CoV-2 infections, one-tenth of the rate in Spain or Canada. Nigeria, the continent’s most populous nation, tests one out of every 50,000 people per day. Even many people who die from COVID-19 may not get a proper diagnosis.

    But in that case, you would still expect an overall rise in mortality, which Kenya has not seen, says pathologist Anne Barasa of the University of Nairobi who did not participate in the country’s coronavirus antibody study. (In South Africa, by contrast, the number of excess natural deaths reported between 6 May and 28 July exceeded its official COVID-19 death toll by a factor of four to one.) Uyoga cautions that the pandemic has hamstrung Kenya’s mortality surveillance system, however, as fieldworkers have been unable to move around.

    Marina Pollán of the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid, who led Spain’s antibody survey, says Africa’s youthfulness may protect it. Spain’s median age is 45; in Kenya and Malawi, it’s 20 and 18, respectively. Young people around the world are far less likely to get severely ill or die from the virus. And the population in Kenya’s cities, where the pandemic first took hold, skews even younger than the country as a whole, says Thumbi Mwangi, an epidemiologist at the University of Nairobi. The number of severe and fatal cases “may go higher when the disease has moved to the rural areas where we have populations with advanced age,” he says.

    Jambo is exploring the hypothesis that Africans have had more exposure to other coronaviruses that cause little more than colds in humans, which may provide some defense against COVID-19. Another possibility is that regular exposure to malaria or other infectious diseases could prime the immune system to fight new pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, Boum adds. Barasa, on the other hand, suspects genetic factors protect the Kenyan population from severe disease."