70% Covid fatalities in GB Nagar were males, shows data

Data on the number of deaths due to Covid-19 in Gautam Budh Nagar till Sunday, indicates that female patients in the district have shown better immunity to the virus

Data on the number of deaths due to Covid-19 in Gautam Budh Nagar till Sunday, indicates that female patients in the district have shown better immunity to the virus than their male counterparts.

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Out of 39 fatalities in the district till Sunday, 27 or nearly 70% were males.Not only this, data released by the state health department also shows that of the 4,155 total positives in the district till Sunday, the number of male patients were 2,327 or 1.27 times more than the number of female patients, which stood at 1,828.

District surveillance officer Dr Manoj Kushwaha said that even the speed of recovery was faster among women. “As per our rough estimate, most female patients turn negative in just five to seven days. On the other hand, their male counterparts take 10-12 days in shedding the virus,” he said.

Kushwaha added that the youngest male patient, who succumbed to the virus so far from the district, was 29 years old.

“On the other hand, more than 20 female positive patients – who were over 65 years and had some other ailments – managed to beat Covid-19. Though it has yet not been established as a fact, but blood running in a male body has higher levels of a key angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is believed to be used by the virus to infect body cells. This enzyme is found in the heart, kidneys and other organs and we believe it plays a vital role in the infection,” he said.

However, micro biologists did not place much trust in the enzyme theory. Dr Dalip K Kakru, head of micro-biology in Sharda institute of medical sciences, said that more exposure and vices make males more susceptible to the virus when compared to their female counterparts.

“It is a contagious disease and men often have more exposure. Perhaps, that’s why the number of fatalities and number of positives is higher in makes,” he said.

Even Dr AK Gadpayle, the former director of central government health scheme (CGHS), seemed to share the belief and said that men have more medical complications when compared to women.

“Ailments like diabetes and hypertension are more common among men. Had the ACE2 enzyme been the cause of vulnerability, then the male to female positivity ratio would not have varied much. While in the US it’s 4:1, Italy has a ratio of 1:1,” he said.