Among 66 people infected with the new coronavirus who died in Japan by the end of March, at least 70% were 70 or more years old, a Yomiuri Shimbun survey has found.
Many of them died within about two weeks of the emergence of their initial symptoms, such as fever. The survey showed that elderly people with chronic diseases are at risk of their symptoms rapidly worsening.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and local governments, 66 people died from Feb. 13 through the end of March. Of the total, 46 were men, 13 were women, and there were seven undisclosed cases.
By age group, most of the fatalities, or 23 people, were in their 80s, followed by 18 people in their 70s. Those in their 70s and 80s account for about 60% of the total. Three people were in their 50s.
Fever, cough, fatigue and nausea are among the first symptoms of infection with the new coronavirus. An analysis of 66 patients showed that many of them died about two weeks after the initial symptoms appeared. For the 25 patients with a confirmed fever, the period from the day of fever to the day of death was three to 46 days. The average was 14.9 days.
Comedian Ken Shimura complained of fatigue on March 17, and had a fever and difficulty breathing on March 19. He was admitted to the hospital on March 20 after being diagnosed with severe pneumonia. He died 12 days after his initial symptoms were confirmed.
Of the 66 patients, at least 25 had underlying conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure. The main underlying diseases were hypertension in three people, heart disease in three, and cancer in three.
According to the ministry, the new coronavirus tends to become more severe when it infects elderly people or people with underlying diseases. An elderly person in Hakodate, Hokkaido, with chronic high blood pressure complained of a cough and other early symptoms on Feb. 16 and developed a fever of 37.5 C the following day. The patient was hospitalized with pneumonia, and died on Feb. 25. The infection was confirmed posthumously on Feb. 26.
Prof. Hiroyuki Kunishima of St. Marianna University School of Medicine said: "It's been confirmed in China that people infected with the new coronavirus die in about two weeks after developing such symptoms as coughing and fever. That was also confirmed in Japan. It's characterized by a short period of time between initial symptoms and death. Above all, it is important to wash one's hands and try to prevent infection."
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