Kenyan medics say they have observed a pattern of high levels of sugars in Covid-19 patients.
They said a good number of patients have also complained of abdominal pain, among other problems. Covid-19 causes organ dysfunction that leads to rapid deterioration, which can cause death.
“This is subject to further studies, but there is evidence because Covid causes a Cytoxan store that causes inflammation in all your body systems. So it not only affects your lungs and your respiratory system but also affects other organs," said Chibanzi Mwachonda, the acting secretary general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union.
"If it affects your pancreas to an extent it leads to inflammation, you are likely to have pancreatogenic diabetes.
"It is not about saying that someone had a comorbid condition, it is not about saying that if you have non-respiratory complainTs then you are fine."
Mwachonda said there is increasing evidence of the effect on other systems in the body.
"The testimony by Richard Quest published four days ago of how he still has a cough that has persisted, despite being told he has recovered and for now he is getting lapses of memory.”
Their observation comes as a group of British neurosurgeons warned that the virus can cause serious damage to the brain and the central nervous system.
In study findings published in the journal Brain, they said the virus does not only attack the respiratory tract and the lungs but can also severely affect the vessels, nerves, the heart, kidneys and the skin.
The neurosurgeons said the disease can cause severe brain damage even in patients with mild symptoms. “Often, this damage is detected very late or not at all.”
The study found that Covid-19 causes long-term health problems in some patients, with some remaining breathless and tired long after their recovery, while others suffer from numbness, weakness and memory problems.
On the issue of comorbidities, the Kenyan medics noted that they are diseases that on usual occasions are managed and patients survive, but with Covid-19 trigger a much more severe condition.
“Yes, we have comorbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension, heart failure that have been shown to be an increased risk for mortality that is because Covid-19 accelerates that disease.”
Scientists at Scripps Research, Florida, have found in their latest study that mutations of the virus could make it more infectious. The study yet to be peer-reviewed shows that the mutation appears to change the biological function of the virus.
Epidemiologists say no data show the new coronavirus is changing significantly, either in its form of transmission or in the severity of the disease it causes. Preliminary research at Kenya Medical Research Institute labs in Kilifi had shown a possibility of mutation in the country.
Dr Francis Kuria, the acting Director of Public Health at the Health ministry, however, noted that the findings of the mutations will have to be validated by other Kemri labs in due course and the final results relayed.
