Wuhan virus killing mostly the elderly, those with previous health problems
- Almost half the fatalities were 80 years or older, all of them from Hubei province
- Chinese authorities say children have been infected but are not highly susceptible to the virus
Details of the fatalities released on Thursday showed the youngest person was 48 and the oldest 89.
All of those who died – 13 men and four women – were from the central province of Hubei, and treated in hospitals in its capital, Wuhan, where the outbreak began in December.
At least nine of those who died had pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease. Eight were in their eighties, two in their seventies, five in their sixties and one man was in his fifties. The youngest woman was 48 and had a pre-existing condition.
One 89-year-old man, surnamed Chen, had a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease and other conditions. He began experiencing symptoms on January 13, including difficulty breathing but not fever. Five days later, he was admitted to the Wuhan Union Hospital with severe breathing difficulties, and tested positive for pneumonia. He died the following evening.
The 48-year-old woman, surnamed Yin, had suffered from diabetes and had also had a stroke. She first had a fever, aches and pains on December 10 and her condition slowly deteriorated. She was treated at two hospitals in Wuhan before she died on Monday.
