As COVID-19 cases, deaths and fatality rates surge in Italy, underlying causes require investigation

Salvatore Rubino; Nikki Kelvin; Jesús F. Bermejo-Martin; David J. Kelvin

doi:10.3855/jidc.12734

As COVID-19 cases, deaths and fatality rates surge in Italy, underlying causes require investigation

Salvatore Rubino, Nikki Kelvin, Jesús F. Bermejo-Martin, David J. Kelvin

Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

71 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

COVID-19 case fatalities surged during the month of March 2020 in Italy, reaching over 10,000 by 28 March 2020. This number exceeds the number of fatalities in China (3,301) recorded from January to March, even though the number of diagnosed cases was similar (85,000 Italy vs. 80,000 China). Case Fatality Rates (CFR) could be somewhat unreliable because the estimation of total case numbers is limited by several factors, including insufficient testing and limitations in test kits and materials, such as NP swabs and PPE for testers. Sero prevalence of SARSCoV-2 antibodies may help in more accurate estimations of the total number of cases. Nevertheless, the disparity in the differences in the total number of fatalities between Italy and China suggests that investigation into several factors, such as demographics, sociological interactions, availability of medical equipment (ICU beds and PPE), variants in immune proteins (e.g., HLA, IFNs), past immunity to related CoVs, and mutations in SARS-CoV-2, could impact survival of severe COVID-19 illness survival and the number of case fatalities.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	265-267
Number of pages	3
Journal	Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
Volume	14
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.12734
Publication status	Published - 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are grateful to Emanuela Sias, Gabriele Carenti, and Esmeralda Ughi for their valuable assistance. This work was supported by the Li-Ka Shing Foundation, Shantou University Medical College; a Rapid Response award for COVID-19, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (DJK and SR); Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation; and a Rapid Response Award from Research Nova Scotia. DJK holds the Canada Research Chair in Translational Vaccinology and Inflammation.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2020 Rubino et al.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Parasitology
Microbiology
Infectious Diseases
Virology

PubMed: MeSH publication types

Journal Article

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.3855/jidc.12734

Cite this

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abstract = "COVID-19 case fatalities surged during the month of March 2020 in Italy, reaching over 10,000 by 28 March 2020. This number exceeds the number of fatalities in China (3,301) recorded from January to March, even though the number of diagnosed cases was similar (85,000 Italy vs. 80,000 China). Case Fatality Rates (CFR) could be somewhat unreliable because the estimation of total case numbers is limited by several factors, including insufficient testing and limitations in test kits and materials, such as NP swabs and PPE for testers. Sero prevalence of SARSCoV-2 antibodies may help in more accurate estimations of the total number of cases. Nevertheless, the disparity in the differences in the total number of fatalities between Italy and China suggests that investigation into several factors, such as demographics, sociological interactions, availability of medical equipment (ICU beds and PPE), variants in immune proteins (e.g., HLA, IFNs), past immunity to related CoVs, and mutations in SARS-CoV-2, could impact survival of severe COVID-19 illness survival and the number of case fatalities.",

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As COVID-19 cases, deaths and fatality rates surge in Italy, underlying causes require investigation

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

PubMed: MeSH publication types

UN SDGs

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