There is no doubt that the death toll from the current outbreak of coronavirus has been considerable, but the impact on women’s health goes much deeper. The virus has a direct and profound effect on reproductive health, and this is likely to have a lasting effect for many years to come. As public-health officials are warning people not to get pregnant for some time, it’s important to realize how pervasive this virus is. It is estimated that out of every 1 million pregnancies in Europe, 100 will die as a result of infection with coronavirus.
This is not just a problem for women in the Middle East. Even in wealthy countries like France and Germany, where antenatal care is excellent, coronavirus infects one woman every 1,500-2,000 pregnancies. And the virus can be carried in semen for up to three months after recovery from a primary infection, so men may be asymptomatic carriers as well as women. The recent World Health Organization (WHO) report noted that “the economic burden of illness due to Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI)” accounted for $1 trillion between 2010 and 2013.
How many women are infected with coronavirus?
It is estimated that 500,000 women in Europe and the United States alone are infected with coronavirus each year. This equates to one infected woman every 1,500 pregnancies or one pregnant woman every five minutes. That’s a staggering number of women and families affected by this virus.
How many people have died from this virus?
More than 5,000 people, 4,000 of whom are women and children. There may be 60,000 infected with the virus, but nobody knows how many carriers there are. Most people think this is an outbreak, but it is estimated that there are 60 million carriers of the virus in the world. We can’t tell which of them will spread it to others because they don’t know they have it and they don’t show any symptoms. The more you look at coronavirus infections as a public-health issue, the more you realize that there could be tens of thousands dying from this infection every year.
How many women and children did the virus kill?
Some 4,000 people have died so far. Of these, more than 3,000 were women and children. The WHO says that between April and May, between 10-15 per week were killed by this strain of coronavirus. That’s death for every week that has gone on for nearly two months now. This is not an outbreak of disease – it is a public-health crisis with the potential to destabilize entire regions, families, and economies.
Why is the virus killing so many women?
Women who have been pregnant are more likely to develop this disease because their immune systems have been weakened, leaving them more vulnerable. It is thought that the virus attaches to a receptor on the surface of white blood cells that have been weakened by illness or pregnancy and is spread by physical contact with infected fluid. Women can catch it from sharing a toilet or rinsing their eyes during menstruation. Every time a woman has a menstrual period, she sheds up to three liters of vaginal discharge and this may be the source of infection for many women. Men and women with weak immune systems or HIV are at greater risk of developing severe illnesses.
What does the virus cause?
Coronavirus can cause severe illness with a high fatality rate, especially among pregnant women and their new-born. The virus can be passed to babies in the womb or through breast milk. It causes severe respiratory problems, as well as diarrhea and pneumonia. There is no treatment, but some antiviral drug medications have been used with limited success.
Conclusion
Coronavirus is a serious illness that has a devastating impact on women’s health. Millions of women and their unborn babies are affected by it every year and there is no effective treatment. There is an urgent need for new research to understand how coronavirus infects the immune system and to find effective treatments, as well as vaccines, for the protection of women against infection.
0 Comments