Measles, heart disease, depression: The coronavirus increases medical problems all over the world – even without directly infecting people.
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Measles vaccination campaigns have been suspended in more than 20 countries. Now the number of sick people is increasing.
REUTERS
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 6500 children have already died from a virus. But it wasn’t the new Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus that killed the children, but a well-known pathogen: the children fell victim to measles. Now measles and Covid-19 – apart from the fact that both are viral diseases – have nothing to do with each other at first, and yet the diseases are more closely interwoven than many health experts would like: They fear a return of measles by Covid-19.
More than 20 countries have already suspended their measles vaccination campaigns because health workers have their hands full with the coronavirus, reports Nature magazine. The consequences are drastic. Although measles rarely leads to death in rich countries, three to six percent of those infected die in poor countries, and lifelong disabilities often remain.
Measles is just one of many examples that the new Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus can harm people’s health in many different ways – from mental illnesses to heart diseases and infectious diseases. It doesn’t even have to infect them. The fact that an infection with Sars-CoV-2 can make people seriously ill and even kill them is now a truism.
Many shy away from going to the doctor
In addition, the corona pandemic is causing countless collateral damage not only in the economy, but also in medicine. And these arise in very different ways. On the one hand by the fear that the new virus spreads, on the other hand by the economic and psychosocial consequences that result from the measures taken against the epidemic – and finally, doubly indirectly, because some patients do not keep their doctor’s appointments these days.
Recently, doctors have therefore warned of the “silent victims” by Sars-CoV-2. “Many patients shy away from visiting medical facilities for fear of being infected with Covid-19.” (Read here: Wait until the appendix bursts) Others do not want to be a burden on the doctors. Lerch recommends avoiding unnecessary practice, but patients with serious complaints should continue to see a doctor. Otherwise there could even be more deaths. In addition, people with chronic illnesses often need regular contact with the doctor to stay true to their therapies.
Corona stress is particularly stressful for the heart. Unemployment, for example, which is now increasing as a result of Covid-19, increases the risk of heart attack in people over 50 to the same extent as smoking, diabetes or high blood pressure, researchers at Duke University calculated a few years ago. However, timely treatment is not always in the hands of the patient. Cancer patients are currently receiving the news that their treatment may have to be postponed due to the corona epidemic. Then they wait anxiously for the new appointment – and hope that they will still experience it. The German Cancer Aid Foundation therefore felt compelled to make an appeal: “Despite the rapidly spreading Covid-19 pandemic, care for cancer patients should under no circumstances be neglected,” said CEO Gerd Nettekoven.
Mental illnesses could increase
The corona crisis also poses a special challenge for people with mental illnesses. “We assume that we will soon have an increase in demand,” says Thomas Pollmächer, future president of the German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. Fear and isolation burden many people, and economic depression also leads to psychological depression, which is known from many studies. The number of suicides rose by 3.3 percent in 54 countries worldwide after the 2008 financial crisis, as scientists from Hong Kong and England have determined. They emphasized that there are 30 to 40 suicide attempts per suicide and around ten people per suicide attempt who are seriously considering suicide. The psychological consequences are therefore immense.
Therefore, more and more health professionals are demanding to keep an eye on the medical effects of the measures taken against Covid-19. For example, the German Ethics Council recently warned that in the end these should not lead to greater health, economic and psychosocial damage than they should actually prevent.
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