“The causes of death from COVID-19 do not differ between individuals who have comorbidities and those who do not.”
Dear Doc,
Why do individuals without prior underlying illnesses die from COVID-19? – Wondering Dear Wondering,
The causes of death from COVID-19 do not differ between individuals who have comorbidities and those who do not.
However, those with underlying illnesses, such as non-communicable diseases, for example, diabetes or asthma, have a higher probability of becoming severely ill and therefore increased risk of succumbing to the virus.
The causes of death are the same in both groups and generally result from respiratory failure, lung clots, sepsis, septic shock and or multiorgan failure.
Respiratory failure means the lungs stop working and are no longer working effectively. In COVID-19, lung tissues become fibrosed or scarred. This leads to decreased oxygen supply to the body as it is unable to pass through the lungs.
Sepsis, another common cause of death from COVID-19, is a severe bacterial infection. This means the patient gets severe pneumonia from a bacterium on top of the COVID viral infection.
COVID can cause increased formation of blood clots throughout the blood system and subsequently lead to vascular compromise; that is, stoppage of blood and oxygenation, oxygen being necessary for life.
Septic shock and multiorgan failure can occur as the body’s immune system is overwhelmed and leads to overall shut down and death.
Dear Doc,
I saw this question on social media and wondered about the answer. Can you address it?
“If the virus is transmitted by droplets, and droplets come out of your mouth like saliva, why can’t the saliva coming out of our mouths be tested for COVID? Why do we need that deep nasal swab?”-
Stacy Dear Stacy,
This is an excellent question and I have often thought about it myself.
However, bear in mind that to obtain adequate viral counts to culture to do the further appropriate testing one must have enough of the virus to do so. The quantity, number of cells, will affect how much of the virus is obtained and therefore accurately analysed. The cells lining the nasopharynx carry a larger quantity of the virus than saliva.
This is important in cell culturing, isolating the virus.
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