By Vishani Ragobeer

THE novel coronavirus and COVID-19 terrifies me. It has claimed so many lives, infected so many more persons, and essentially, affected the entire world. More recently though, what has been worrying me is the prevalence of undetected, underlying health issues.

From March to now, information on this coronavirus has kept evolving. Even so, it was well articulated that elderly folk were more vulnerable to the severe and potentially fatal effects of the virus. Back in April, I attended a locally organised forum that was moderated by the current Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony. Then, I learnt that while children may have mild symptoms, they are more likely to transmit the virus to others, including older folk.

Now, to be fair, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that persons of all ages can be affected by COVID-19. However, it was emphasised that there is a greater vulnerability of becoming severely ill from this virus among older people. The WHO also said that individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, such as respiratory ailments such as asthma and chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and heart disease, were also particularly vulnerable. In Guyana, NCDs account for 70 per cent of deaths, according to the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO).

Aside from asthma, I personally associated these medical conditions with older folk and thought that this was one of the reasons they were so vulnerable. But, that is not necessarily the case.

In a recent interview with the former Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, I was told that these pre-existing conditions were manifesting in younger folk (as young as late 20s) as well. Dr. Persaud related that the age range of persons with heart issues have been on the decline. Simply put, this means that younger persons are developing the conditions that could lead to diabetes and heart diseases.

Head of Medical Services at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Dr. Mahendra Carpen, said this too and stressed that these manifesting conditions would go undetected for years. In many cases, it is only until persons require emergency health care (if they get a heart attack, for example) do they realise that they have an underlying condition (such as diabetes, for example).

There are so many concerning aspects here. The first is, why are younger persons becoming more prone to developing these conditions? Our everyday habits, experts say, are major contributing factors.
Dr. Persaud stressed the importance of eating healthy meals, exercising regularly, and consuming less alcohol as simple measures that significantly contribute to overall well-being.

Then, there is the concern that these issues go undetected for years. They remain there, affecting us, and we simply do not know because we have not gone for a medical check-up unless there is some emergency need. In fact, Dr, Carpen pointed to a local 2019 study which showed that 30 per cent of patients who go to the GPHC for emergency health care– due to a heart attack, for example– only then realise that they are also diabetic. To remedy this, regular check-ups and screening should be done. But, as I have known all my life, we don’t really visit the doctor unless we feel as if something is seriously wrong. I think this notion points to a privilege that we don’t have, but that’s another story for another day.

Now, exacerbating those two aspects is that persons with these underlying and undetected conditions are more vulnerable to the severe effects of COVID-19. It has been reported that local medical professionals highlighted that most of the COVID-19 deaths were recorded in persons who had these conditions.

Dr. Carpen related that primary healthcare in Guyana should be improved upon, instead of having a more reactive, “treatment-focused” approach to healthcare. Of course, we cannot forget the widely known benefits of good, everyday habits. Another overlooked but crucial factor is the need to know one’s medical history; many NCDs, according to the WHO, are impacted by one’s genetics.

I am no medical professional, but I understand how concerning this matter is. While we are currently enveloped in a pandemic, which has already placed a massive burden on the healthcare sector, it is now becoming increasingly apparent that we should focus more on the health and well-being of the population, generally.