What is the typical profile of coronavirus patients? A study published by the British medical journal Lancet provides initial answers to this question, notes Sciences et Avenir. Researchers in particular sought to establish a portrait-robot from 99 cases of patients infected in China in December.
Among the latter, more than two thirds are men, with an average age of 55.5 years.
A large half of them were already carriers of an underlying pathology, such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes.
The study also focuses on the symptoms displayed by patients during their care. All patients admitted to hospital had pneumonia. Three-quarters had both lungs infected. More than four in five had fever and cough. Almost a third were short of breath and only five patients co-infected with bacteria or fungi.
Six cases confirmed in France
Despite these initial elements, the researchers argue that it would be necessary, in order to better understand the factors of vulnerability to 2019 n-CoV, to study a broader spectrum, with patients treated in other countries.
In France, six cases have already been confirmed. And two young men could be added to this list this Friday. Aged about twenty, they were indeed part of the 200 passengers from Wuhan who arrived in Istres (Bouches-du-Rhône) this Friday. They were placed in confinement.