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KUALA LUMPUR (April 4): The World Health Organization has revealed that more young people are becoming very ill and dying from the COVID-19 pandemic, CNBC reported yesterday.
“We are seeing more and more younger individuals who are experiencing severe disease,” said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said at a media briefing at the organization’s Geneva HQ.
“We’ve seen some data from a number of countries across Europe where people of younger age have died. Some of those individuals have had underlying conditions, but some have not,” CNBC reported her saying.
She explained that the bulk off patients with severe illnesses in intensive care tend to be older or have underlying medical conditions, “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 died.”
Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s emergencies program said that “it is a mistake to believe that the virus only severely impacts older people and those with underlying conditions.”
In Italy 10% to 15% of all people in intensive care are under 50, while in South Korea one in six deaths have been people below the age of 60, added Dr Ryan.
Dr Van Kerkhove went on to say that “much remains unknown about the virus, including why the disease develops into a severe illness in some individuals but not others”.
She added that as the virus spreads, “more clinical data is being collected, with researchers learning about the behaviour of the virus”, reported the broadcaster.
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