COVID-19 infections could lead to death especially for people with severe health complications. A new study revealed that patients with type 1 diabetes are more likely to die from coronavirus compared to those who have type 2 diabetes. Another research also concluded that coronavirus found in saliva can travel more than 5 meters even with just a slight breeze, infecting people near the source.
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People With Type 1 Diabetes Infected By COVID-19 Have Higher Risk Of Death: Coronavirus In Saliva Could Travel More Than 5 Meters
According to The Guardian's latest report, research conducted by the NHS confirmed that the patients' risk of death could significantly increase because of Type 1 diabetes. In the study, almost one in three people in a hospital in England who died from the coronavirus were reported to have diabetes.
Nine out of 10 diabetics have type 2 diabetes while others are obese. Type 1 diabetics, those who developed an autoimmune form of the disease, are three-and-a-half times more likely to succumb from coronavirus compared to those people who have Type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, Type 2 diabetics are twice more likely to die from coronavirus than those who are non-diabetics.
According to the new findings of the NHS, age is the biggest determining factor for death among those people who have diabetes and were infected by COVID-19. 40-year-old individuals have a higher risk of death compared to those who are under 40. People usually diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are mostly younger than those who have Type 2 diabetes.
People with Type 1 diabetes infected by COVID-19 have a higher risk of death; Coronavirus in saliva can travel more than 5 meters
It was clarified that the findings have not undergone a peer review but a leading medical journal will soon publish the study. The findings revealed that 365 people who have died in a hospital in England have Type 1 diabetes while 7,466 people who died have type 2 diabetes.
People With Type 1 Diabetes Infected By COVID-19 Have Higher Risk Of Death: Coronavirus In Saliva Could Travel More Than 5 Meters
Meanwhile, a new study concluded that coronavirus found in a person's saliva can travel more than 5 meters, even in a slight breeze, around 4 kilometers per hour (2.5 meters per hour). The results suggested that staying two meters away from other people may not be far enough to avoid getting infected with the coronavirus.
It was explained by Professor Dimitris, one of the authors of the study, that children and shorter people have a higher risk of getting infected if they are standing near the trajectory of the saliva droplets containing COVID-19. "The droplet cloud will affect both adults and children of different heights," he said.
Computer simulations showing how saliva droplets move through the air through coughing were observed by the researchers, studying the interactions of saliva molecules and air particles, including the way they disperse. The effects of the air's temperature and humidity were also taken into account.
"The fact that droplets from a cough can travel for more than two meters is already understood, but this new study helps to provide more insight into the physical mechanisms at work as droplets travel through the air," said Simon Clarke, an associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading.
He clarified that the two-meter rule doesn't provide a force field against the COVID-19 infection, but it is still recommended. However, the protective effect of the two-meter rule measure is not proportional to the distance. Simon suggested that the guidelines in social distancing should be changed.
