Disparities and inequalities facing the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus: what to remember

Audio 04:23

By: Alexis Bedu Follow

We are not all equal in the face of the virus. SARS-CoV-2 hits some people harder. Many things were said and then contradicted. Children who are less vector, smokers who are less infected. Update on these differences against the virus.

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• Age, a determining factor

The virus affects everyone, but not with the same power. Age is the biggest factor of disparity between individuals facing the virus. People over the age of 70 are the most represented among the deaths from Covid-19 disease. Example in Italy, the average age of death is 79.5 years. For what reasons ? The immune system's ability to fight pathogens decreases over time. This is what would make them more vulnerable .

But there is something special about this SARS-CoV-2 virus. Babies 0-2 years of age whose immune defenses are being built are not considered to be at risk. They are indeed very little affected. Olivier Terrier, researcher at the International Center for Infectious Disease Research in Lyon, explains to RFI that “  babies do not have all the risk factors that older people have. That is to say, existing cardiovascular diseases, a field with existing chronic pathologies. So there is also this whole context that comes into play, combined with a senescent, that is to say aging, immune system.  " 

• Infection of children with coronavirus

What emerges from the available data is that the number of children and adolescents diagnosed and tested positive for Covid-19 is very low in the world. But we know that this virus would cause more asymptomatic forms than other viruses of the same family in this young population. Are children therefore less affected? No certainty about it. They react quite well to the virus, so they don't go to the hospital, and therefore they are very little tested.

A concern, however, in recent days from England. Cases of critically ill children have been identified. It is an inflammatory syndrome . Children tested positively and negatively with SARS-CoV-2 are concerned. English doctors say it could be linked to rare forms of Coronavirus.

• Men more seriously affected than women

In France, among the serious cases admitted to intensive care, 73% are men. Among the people who died from coronavirus, they are 57%. Many studies have already been carried out on this.

“  There are many more risk factors present in men. There are more cardiovascular diseases or diabetes or obesity for example in men,  "explains Olivier Terrier. Then add: “  There are also, possibly, other factors that could play a role, which can really be linked to hormones, especially estrogens. The main explanation is indeed risk factors which are perhaps much more present in the male population.  Another explanation put forward is that men smoke more than women.

• Less contaminated smokers

Nicotine receptors play a barrier role in the entry of the virus. These are just hypotheses. What is certain is that smoking does not protect from Covid-19 and it is even an aggravating factor of the pathology. Another magnifying glass effect, you may have heard of the difference between blood groups. A Chinese study suggested more than a month ago that individuals in group O positive would be less carriers of the virus. It was only a preliminary study. CNRS researchers assure that this is not really a key factor at the moment.

However, observing these disparities is very useful for researchers. This is the work of several laboratories, especially in France. This allows you to create prognostic markers. When a patient arrives at the hospital, observing these markers can allow him to be taken care of more quickly to anticipate severe forms of the disease.

Our selection on SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

• Listen to Coronavirus Info , daily chronicle on the pandemic

• Explanation:  The origins of the Covid-19

• Analyzes:
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→  A vaccine, the only solution to stem the pandemic?
→  What impact on conflict zones?

• Practical questions:
→  What is known about the mode of contagion
→  What results for ongoing clinical trials?
→  How to make a mask and use it well

Find all our articles, reports, chronicles and programs on the coronavirus by clicking here .

See also the files of RFI Savoirs  on the Covid-19:
•  Birth of a pandemic
•  Everyday life put to the test
•  The history of epidemics
•  Science facing the Covid-19
•  The geopolitical consequences

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