Mortality rate of patients tested positive for Sars-CoV-2 in Maharashtra is double compared to that of India, according to the data for all states available till Monday.
As on Monday, the state had 868 cases and 52 deaths and thus a mortality rate of 5.98%, against India’s 2.66%, with 4,542 cases and 121 deaths. In Maharashtra, the numbers rose to 1,018 cases and 64 deaths on Tuesday.
A comparison with data for other states till Monday shows that Maharashtra is fourth in terms of mortality rate. Gujarat tops the list with a mortality rate of 8.33% (12 deaths), although the total number of cases is 114. After Gujarat, Punjab’s mortality rate is 7.89% with 6 deaths and 76 cases; Himachal Pradesh’s mortality rate is 7.69% with one death and 13 cases. After Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of cases — 621 – but the mortality rate is 0.80% with five deaths. Delhi has third highest cases — 523 and seven deaths – and the mortality rate is 1.33%. Kerala has 327 cases, but only two deaths. Their mortality rate is 0.61%.
Currently, the mortality rate of the state is higher than the world’s – 5.58% (12,10,956 cases and 67,594 deaths). However, what needs to be considered is that in India, testing is limited vis-a-vis a majority of other countries like Germany, US, South Korea and UK. This also means that several asymptomatic persons, who may be carrying the virus, have not been tested, and our numbers of total infected cases may be much higher which can have bearing on mortality rates.
State officials pointed out that the fatalities in Maharashtra are more in the elderly age group and with those who have co-morbid conditions such as heart disease, kidney failure, diabetes etc. The other aspect of the deaths in Maharashtra is that in several cases, the disease manifested at a later stage.
{{/usCountry}}State officials pointed out that the fatalities in Maharashtra are more in the elderly age group and with those who have co-morbid conditions such as heart disease, kidney failure, diabetes etc. The other aspect of the deaths in Maharashtra is that in several cases, the disease manifested at a later stage.
{{/usCountry}}Public health experts are still trying to find the reasons behind the higher mortality rate, but they have suggested that those who show any symptoms of the virus should rush to a Covid-19 dedicated hospital, instead of waiting.
For instance, the first death in Dharavi was of a 56-year-old who had no travel history. He died a day after he tested positive. Health officials retracing his history said he had visited a local clinic on March 23 complaining of cough. Following this, on March 28, the patient had complained of chest pain and underwent treatment at Sion Hospital. “The test results of the patient arrived on April 1 after which he was moved from Sion Hospital to Kasturba Hospital and died a day later. In this case, the manifestation of the disease started at a very late stage owing to which the patient could not be saved,” said a senior BMC health official.
“Our analysis shows that mortality is higher in cases of comorbidities and people who are in the upper age bracket. These conditions add to the complications, leading to deaths,” said Dr Anup Yadava, director, National Health Mission (NHM) in Maharashtra.
An analysis by the state medical education department and health department shows that the highest mortality rate (28.57%) is in the age group of 71-80, with 28 cases and eight deaths so far. In the 61-70 age bracket, of the total 84 cases, 19 deaths have been recorded, bringing the mortality rate to 22.62%.
The 51-60 age group has 107 cases and 11 deaths. The mortality rate here is 10.28%. The state has highest number of cases — 157 — in the age group of 21-30 years, in which no death has been reported.
State disease surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate said, “A majority of patients who died had comorbid conditions. Of the total Covid-19 deaths, 78% patients had diabetes, hypertension and other such serious illnesses.”
(With inputs from Shrinivas Deshpande)