The Corona-Pandemie could also result in a dramatic increase in deaths in poorer countries Malaria, HIV and tuberculosis to lead. According to researchers from Imperial College London, health systems and drug delivery could be seriously disrupted in areas where infectious diseases are common. Almost three million people worldwide already die from these diseases every year, the vast majority of them in low- and middle-income countries. According to model calculations, the number of deaths could increase drastically, causing more people to die from these three diseases in the next five years than from the virus itself.
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Both HIV and tuberculosis and malaria are now inexpensive and effective treatment and prevention tools. However, according to the researchers, people in many countries are already avoiding medical practices and hospitals for fear of corona infection. The supply situation with medication and antiretroviral treatments for HIV is also tense.
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For the study, which was published in the medical journal “Lancet Global Health”, the team from the renowned university examined four different scenarios for the course of the corona pandemic. The most serious consequences would therefore be interruptions in antiretroviral treatment for those infected with HIV: In parts of southern Africa, up to ten percent more people could die from HIV than without the lung disease Covid-19 caused by the coronavirus.
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In the worst case scenario, deaths from tuberculosis could increase by 20 percent in southern Africa. Tuberculosis is still the world’s deadliest infectious disease. Malaria deaths could increase by 36 percent if campaigns to distribute mosquito nets were interrupted alone.
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