Study on corona deaths published: Almost everyone would still live today without Covid-19

Covid-19 is a potentially fatal disease.

But how many people actually died as a result of its consequences is difficult to say.

A Regensburg study gives the first clues.

Regensburg

- According to the Robert Koch Institute, there have been 58,956 corona deaths in Germany to date (Wednesday, February 3, 12 a.m.).

However, there has long been a heated public debate about the definition of what a corona death actually is.

Some say people would have died anyway.

The others counter that the virus * was to blame for their death.

A study published at the Regensburg University Hospital * now sheds some light on the matter.

Corona study from Regensburg: autopsies brought clear results

Even if there is only a relatively small number of cases, the study carried out by several doctors in Regensburg * shows a clear trend.

The team under study director Dr.

At the beginning of the corona pandemic last year, Katja Evert examined what exactly people with Covid 19 had died of, writes the

.

17 people died in connection with Corona * during the study period.

The family gave their consent for a comprehensive autopsy on eight of them.

The deceased were four women and four men between the ages of 44 and 73 years.

“We autopsied eight patients.

Seven of them certainly died of Corona * and one patient died with Corona, "says pathologist Evert.

The exact cause of death in the corona deaths was multiple organ failure.

The eighth dead died of cirrhosis of the liver.

Another amazing result of the study was that the other deceased had virtually no previous illnesses.

At most they have been diagnosed with high blood pressure or diabetes.

"But overall nothing that really represented a serious pre-existing illness," says Evert.

"From this you can actually conclude that you can also die of corona as a young, presumably healthy person," explains the pathologist.

Corona study from Regensburg: the deceased suffered from fungal infections

In addition to major changes in the lung tissue, the research team was able to identify a fungal infection as the trigger for organ failure in half of the deceased.

The corona infection probably favored this.

An important finding as Covid-19 is still a relatively new disease and the state of research is not very advanced.

That is why it is important for scientists to be able to research the deceased.

“We autopsy and learn from it,” says Evert.

The willingness of relatives for an autopsy is decreasing a bit, according to the doctor.

However, due to the small number of cases and the very special group of dead, the results of the study cannot be generalized.

Whether a person died “of” or “with” Corona can only be definitively determined by an autopsy.

Regarding their study, however, Evert is certain: "If they had not had Covid, there is a very high probability that seven out of eight would still be alive."

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