Not all corona virus victims have had previous illnesses and poor health • A large proportion are 50 or older with "normal" health deficiencies, such as high blood pressure • Background diseases are cause for concern - but not panic • Interpretation

• Corona patient care Photo: IP

About a month ago, my friend S., a 55-year-old divorced mother of two, approached me and asked me, with her eyes in her eyes: "You're going to keep me breathing if I have to, right?" I didn't understand what she was talking about, and when I asked her about the anxiety she was holding, she said she was suffering from background illnesses and knew that "all those who die from Corona are people with other illnesses."

I was reminded that, like many people her age, she also suffers from some hypertension, some diabetes, takes medication, but with all her "background illnesses" works 12 hours a day, spends like "crazy" and lives a happy, happy life.

When we look at what these "background diseases" are for those who have died from Corona, we can see that not all of them are people who come to the age of 90 who suffer from dementia, confined to their bed without quality of life, regardless of Corona.

Not all patients suffer from non-treatment malignant tumors, and not all suffer from severe immunosuppression. There is a spectrum where a large proportion of people with background illnesses are people like me, who suffer from "normal" illnesses of 50 and over, who have a little overweight, diabetes, high blood pressure and high fat.

It should be borne in mind that at the extreme end of the spectrum there are young people with no illness in the past. And yet we hear about the prevalence of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. In Italy, Spain, the US and even in Israel, some of the seniors live in senior care centers, Saudi institutions, etc., where one of the staff or tenants suffices - and the chances of other people in the institution getting very high.

Usually at this age people suffer from "frailty", which means a decrease in the body's "reserves" even before the corona, and when there is a virus infection (like any other illness) their chances of getting seriously ill and dying are higher. But that does not mean that relatively young and healthy people may not be very ill.

It is a virus that we do not yet know to predict in whom it will hit lightly and in hard times, which is one of the big challenges we face. When we say "background disease" we do not respect the cruelty of the virus on the one hand and the people suffering from these diseases.

Of course, if there is a "background disease" complication, especially chest pain, stroke and the like, you should go to the ER and not be afraid to leave you at home and get involved.

The writer is an infectious disease specialist at Tel Hashomer Medical Center