Some Covid-19 fatalities had infection for weeks

An analysis of the recent Covid-19 deaths has shown that some people have a gruelling struggle with the disease before succumbing to it, despite advances in therapies. Official data on the known cases and fatalities say that only about 1.57% of people in Karnataka who have contracted Covid-19 have died.

Follow latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic here

However, an analysis of data since August 1 shows that some 4.02% (or 206 cases) out of the 5,090 deaths since then could not be saved even weeks after they were diagnosed with the disease.

The average duration of infection is 15 days. In Karnataka, according to official data, moderate symptomatics are on average discharged after seven days while most serious cases are discharged between 15 and 17 days.

However, some 179 of the patients died between 16 and 29 days. Some 27 patients died 30 or more days after being diagnosed with the disease. In one case, a patient died 50 days (on August 29) after being identified with Covid-19. According to data, 175 are aged over 50, but 15 are aged between 22 and 39. Twenty-six had diabetes, another 67 had both diabetes and hypertension, but 44 did not have any comorbidities.

A senior government researcher who did not want to be named, suggested that most of these prolonged deaths are due to underlying conditions exacerbated by Covid-19. “The fatalities likely had fibrosis of the lungs, or the development of secondary infections, or sepsis and organ dysfunction, which prolong the duration of the disease,” he said.

Another medical expert, Dr Anoop Amarnath, Chief of Medical Services at Manipal, and a member of the State’s Covid Technical Committee explained that the weakening of the immune system by Covid-19 also prompts secondary infections, including bacterial outgrowth, which impact recovery.

Dr S Sacchidanand, Head of the State Death Audit Committee (whose primary goal is to aid policy changes to decrease fatalities), suggested that some of the deaths could be due to post-Covid complications but added that the committee had not yet received details on such cases.

However, independent reports claim some Covid-19 survivors have died within weeks of being discharged. According to Saqib Idrees, a volunteer aiding Covid-hit families, over a 10-day period extending back from September 14, four Covid-19 survivors in Bengaluru, one in Tumakuru and two from Andhra Pradesh died in Bengaluru within one week of being discharged. “All were aged over 60. The deaths were classified as non-Covid, but the cause is unknown. No assessment was done,” he said.