[ti:Age Is Not the Only Risk for Severe Coronavirus Disease] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Older people remain most at risk of dying from the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19. [00:09.04]The majority of people who get COVID-19 have minor or moderate sickness. [00:17.08]But "majority" does not mean "all." [00:20.96]So, who else should be concerned about contracting severe, even deadly, cases of COVID-19? [00:30.36]It may be months before scientists have enough data to say for sure who, aside from the old, is most at risk and why. [00:42.00]But, medical experts have already learned some helpful information from numbers on early cases around the world. [00:51.48]In China, 80 percent of COVID-19 deaths were among people in their 60s or older. [00:59.52]This alone means some countries face higher percentages of deaths from the disease. [01:06.40]Italy has the world's second oldest population after Japan. [01:11.64]Italy has reported more than 80 percent of deaths in the country so far were among those 70 or older. [01:20.56]But, "the idea that this is purely a disease that causes death in older people [01:26.24]we need to be very, very careful with," said Dr. Mike Ryan. [01:32.56]He is the World Health Organization's emergencies chief. [01:38.12]Between 10 and 15 percent of people under 50 have moderate to severe infections, he said last week. [01:46.92]"Young people are not invincible," said the WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove. [01:53.80]She noted that more information is needed about the disease in all age groups. [02:00.68]Italy reports 25 percent of its confirmed cases are among people ages 19 to 50. [02:09.44]In Spain, about 33 percent are under the age of 44. [02:15.52]In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's first examination of cases [02:22.20]found that 29 percent were ages 20 to 44. [02:28.24]Then there is the mystery of how the disease affects children. [02:33.64]They have made up a small amount of the world's case counts to date. [02:39.24]Most appear to get only mildly ill. [02:43.12]Another question is what part children play in spreading the virus. [02:48.68]Researchers at Canada's Dalhousie University recently wrote in The Lancet Infectious Disease publication: [02:57.24]"There is an urgent need for further investigation of the role children have in the chain of transmission." [03:05.72]Along with age, existing health conditions are a major predictor of who suffers most from COVID-19. [03:14.08]In China, 40 percent of people who required critical care had health problems before they became infected. [03:22.92]COVID-19 deaths in China were highest among people who already had heart disease, diabetes or chronic lung diseases. [03:32.68]Pre-existing health problems can also increase risk of infection. [03:37.72]This includes people who have weak immune systems caused by things such as cancer treatment. [03:44.76]Additional threats are likely to be discovered. [03:49.04]Italy reported that of the first nine people younger than 40 who died of COVID-19, [03:55.84]seven were confirmed to have serious health issues such as heart disease. [04:02.36]Heart disease is a very general term. [04:05.16]But, so far, it looks like those most at risk have serious cardiovascular disease such as [04:13.20]congestive heart failure or severely blocked or hardened arteries, said Dr. Trish Perl. [04:21.36]She is infectious disease chief at UT Southwestern Medical Center. [04:27.44]Arteries are the largest tubes through which blood flows around the body. [04:33.24]Any sort of infection generally makes diabetes harder to control. [04:39.20]But it is not clear why diabetics appear to be at greater risk with COVID-19. [04:47.00]As for preexisting breathing diseases, [04:50.44]"this is really happening in people who have less lung capacity," Dr. Perl said. [04:58.36]Asthma, a breathing condition that affects 300 million people worldwide, is also a special worry. [05:07.96]Several countries have observed that men are more likely to get severely sick from COVID-19. [05:15.28]This is not a surprise to researchers. [05:18.88]During the outbreaks of the coronavirus diseases SARS and MERS, [05:24.28]scientists also found that men generally had more severe cases than women. [05:30.20]In China, a little more than half the COVID deaths have been among men. [05:36.52]Some other parts of Asia report similar amounts. [05:40.24]In Italy, men so far make up 58 percent of infections. [05:46.08]And a report on Britain's first 200 coronavirus patients admitted to critical care [05:53.68]said that about sixty-five percent were male. [05:57.84]One reason? [05:59.16]Worldwide, men are more likely to have smoked more heavily and for longer periods than women. [06:06.00]The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control is urging research into smoking's connection to COVID-19. [06:15.72]Sex hormones may be involved also. [06:18.84]In 2017, American researchers who infected mice with SARS found that male mice were more likely to die. [06:28.96]Estrogen -- a female sex hormone -- seemed protective. [06:34.32]When the mice had their ovaries removed, deaths among female mice increased. [06:40.40]I'm Ashley Thompson. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM