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talkpoliticsNYC mayor Bill DeBlasio is worried about the spread of a mysterious inflammation among children. There are suspicions that it is related to Covid-19, which is said to affect children much less than adults.
40+ new cases of this new sindrom have been reported in New York City. The inflammation goes as a violent reaction of the immune system, resulting in heavy damages on a number of vital organs.
NY governor Cuomo corroborates this data, reporting of at least 90 cases in NY state. He reports that at least 5 children have probably died in direct result of this new disease, one of them just 5 years old. All had pre-existing conditions.
The symptoms resemble those of the Kawasaki disease, an artery inflammation that goes with high fever, and often skin inflammation. The worst symptom is an infectious toxic shock.
Some of the afflicted children have been tested for Covid-19, 47% turned out infected, and 81% had antibodies. Similar results have come from the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and other European countries.
In the meantime, it's understandable that the focus across the world is on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, and overcoming the economic consequences from this health crisis. Most efforts are directed to finding a vaccine. While this is undoubtedly vital, we shouldn't forget that there are a number of other deadly diseases that have remained outside the public focus, and that could have fatal consequences. The experts are concerned that there could be millions of fatal cases caused by diseases that are otherwise curable.
For example, in the UK about 2,300 cases with cancer symptoms practically remain without access to medical examination every week. The prophylactic exams of breast cancer have been cancelled, affecting hundreds of thousands of women weekly. Thus, a number of diseases could turn into a deadly risk for millions if not discovered and treated in time. British Heart Foundation data shows that in March, about 50% fewer people than usual have turned to the medical institutions with heart attack suspicions.
Other countries could be even more severely affected - like the poorer countries that have been fighting heavy infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, AIDS and measles. Same about malaria. Having almost been eradicated until recently, these diseases are starting to come back, since they've been neglected because of the focus on the Coronavirus.
Tuberculosis, with an annual infection rate of about 10 million people worldwide, is the deadliest of all, with 1.5 million fatalities every year. About 1,000 people died of tuberculosis in India every day. And the expectation is that between 2020 and 2025, 6.3 million more people will get it as a direct consequence of the Coronavirus lockdown.
In India, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, tuberculosis patients have found it much more difficult to get treatment. Many of the medical cabinets have been closed, and those manage to get access to a doctor are often turned back if they don't have the Coronavirus. Meanwhile, children's immunisation is also lagging behind, at least 100 thousand kids haven't been vaccinated for tuberculosis in March alone.
The malaria situation is no better, either. It mostly affects the poor tropical and subtropical countries, in many of them malaria being the primary cause of death.
WHO estimates show that in 2018, at least 228 million people have contracted malaria around the world, 93% of them in Africa. And these numbers will certainly grow this year. In many countries, a severe shortage of medicines is already being observed, as well as malaria tests and protective nets. Things could get reversed years back now.
So far, Africa has been relatively unaffected by Covid-19. But it is clear from now that the Coronavirus could quickly push all efforts for fighting other diseases to the sidelines. About 380,000 people die of malaria every year in Africa, and the WHO estimates that these could double for the next few years. And malaria is one of the countless epidemics that periodically return and shake this part of the world. Not to forget the measles, smallpox, AIDS, Q-fever, and Ebola.
40+ new cases of this new sindrom have been reported in New York City. The inflammation goes as a violent reaction of the immune system, resulting in heavy damages on a number of vital organs.
NY governor Cuomo corroborates this data, reporting of at least 90 cases in NY state. He reports that at least 5 children have probably died in direct result of this new disease, one of them just 5 years old. All had pre-existing conditions.
The symptoms resemble those of the Kawasaki disease, an artery inflammation that goes with high fever, and often skin inflammation. The worst symptom is an infectious toxic shock.
Some of the afflicted children have been tested for Covid-19, 47% turned out infected, and 81% had antibodies. Similar results have come from the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and other European countries.
In the meantime, it's understandable that the focus across the world is on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, and overcoming the economic consequences from this health crisis. Most efforts are directed to finding a vaccine. While this is undoubtedly vital, we shouldn't forget that there are a number of other deadly diseases that have remained outside the public focus, and that could have fatal consequences. The experts are concerned that there could be millions of fatal cases caused by diseases that are otherwise curable.
For example, in the UK about 2,300 cases with cancer symptoms practically remain without access to medical examination every week. The prophylactic exams of breast cancer have been cancelled, affecting hundreds of thousands of women weekly. Thus, a number of diseases could turn into a deadly risk for millions if not discovered and treated in time. British Heart Foundation data shows that in March, about 50% fewer people than usual have turned to the medical institutions with heart attack suspicions.
Other countries could be even more severely affected - like the poorer countries that have been fighting heavy infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, AIDS and measles. Same about malaria. Having almost been eradicated until recently, these diseases are starting to come back, since they've been neglected because of the focus on the Coronavirus.
Tuberculosis, with an annual infection rate of about 10 million people worldwide, is the deadliest of all, with 1.5 million fatalities every year. About 1,000 people died of tuberculosis in India every day. And the expectation is that between 2020 and 2025, 6.3 million more people will get it as a direct consequence of the Coronavirus lockdown.
In India, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, tuberculosis patients have found it much more difficult to get treatment. Many of the medical cabinets have been closed, and those manage to get access to a doctor are often turned back if they don't have the Coronavirus. Meanwhile, children's immunisation is also lagging behind, at least 100 thousand kids haven't been vaccinated for tuberculosis in March alone.
The malaria situation is no better, either. It mostly affects the poor tropical and subtropical countries, in many of them malaria being the primary cause of death.
WHO estimates show that in 2018, at least 228 million people have contracted malaria around the world, 93% of them in Africa. And these numbers will certainly grow this year. In many countries, a severe shortage of medicines is already being observed, as well as malaria tests and protective nets. Things could get reversed years back now.
So far, Africa has been relatively unaffected by Covid-19. But it is clear from now that the Coronavirus could quickly push all efforts for fighting other diseases to the sidelines. About 380,000 people die of malaria every year in Africa, and the WHO estimates that these could double for the next few years. And malaria is one of the countless epidemics that periodically return and shake this part of the world. Not to forget the measles, smallpox, AIDS, Q-fever, and Ebola.
