CoVid-19 Part VIII - 292 cases ROI (2 deaths) 62 in NI (as of 17th March) *Read OP*

Bigboldworld wrote: »

Jesus, it is devastating what is happening in Italy, how on earth is it so bad there yet not so in likes of germany etc? Are figures being downplayed elsewhere?

Could be all sorts of factors B. Older population demographic because though younger folks have died the vast majority who have died are over 70. More interaction between the generations which is more common in Latin cultures so more spreading of the virus upwards from younger people, especially kids who tend to show no symptoms. More apartment living which means more shared areas and surfaces. Even maybe because they're more tactile than northern cultures.

There might be a localised biological reason too. I've been reading some very early research that suggests people with Group A blood are more prone to suffering more serious symptoms than Group O people. Maybe there are higher proportions of the former in northern Italy when compared to say Germany? I do recall reading a paper on Neandertal genetics in modern DNA and seem to also recall that northern Italians show some genetic differences to southern Italians(the latter have more archaic admixture).

Testing plays into this too. The more they test in an area the lower the death rate goes, because they expose more of the 90 odd percent who have mild symptoms. If which is what goes on at the start of something like this they're only testing hospital cases, or people with obvious symptoms the fatality percentage looks far worse. Kinda like if you decided to study the rate of broken bones in a population by measuring how many fractures you saw in a casualty department. You'd be convinced people were snapping bones on a daily basis.