Ranchi: The spread of the double mutant as well as the UK strain of coronavirus has taken a toll on the lungs of young patients in the state. According to health experts, the increasing rate of infection in the state was owing to the presence of the UK variant, whereas the double mutant strain aggravated the symptoms among patients.
During the second wave, younger patients are getting affected in large numbers unlike the first wave. Last year, mostly the elderly and people with co-morbidities suffered when the outbreak was at its peak.
As per the data from the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims), nearly 200 of the 350 Covid-19 patients currently under treatment at the hospital are between 20 to 40 years, and all of them have developed lungs infection after contracting the virus.
Talking to TOI, a professor of critical care at Rims, Dr Pradeep Bhattacharya, said: “We conduct HRCT to analyse the anatomical damage of the lungs of a Covid-19 patient, while functional damage is assessed on the basis of the patient’s SpO2 levels. This time, the mortality rate among younger patients is high as the lungs are getting affected fast.”
On being asked about the severity of the infection during the second wave, Dr Bhattacharya said: “We can realise the severity only from the fact that a young patient’s oxygen level is falling from 90 to 50 and below within 24 hours. We are not being able to save all the patients despite trying our best.”
Dr Bhattacharya also expressed his concern over the spike in infection rate. He said that last year a positive person could infect three to four people, but this time around the number is hovering between eight to 12. “The mutant strains are responsible for the surge in cases. We are often getting five to six patients from the same family,” Dr Bhattacharya said.
An assistant professor at Rims’s critical care department, Dr Saif Khan, said: “Last year, lungs usually got damaged after a prolonged infection. But, this time, the condition of the lungs is starting to deteriorate within two to three days. That is almost equal to the incubation period that the virus takes before showing symptoms.”
On being asked how a patient in home isolation will ascertain the condition of their lungs, Dr Khan said: “Constant monitoring of oxygen saturation levels and pulse rate is necessary and if people in home isolation experience a dip in saturation levels they should immediately get themselves admitted to a hospital and get an HRCT done.”