Study: Why Covid-19 is hitting men harder than women
A medic holds a sample from a resident to be used for testing for Covid-19.
What you need to know:
- Men showed much weaker activation of T cells, and that lag was linked to how sick they became.
- The older the men, the weaker their T cell responses.
Kenya recorded 263 cases of Covid-19 yesterday following the testing of 4,424 samples. This brings the total number of positive cases to 34,057.
The country has lost two patients to the disease, bringing the number of fatalities to 574.
The number of recoveries were 98, with the Health ministry stating that 79 of them were from home-based care.
The number of new cases is slightly higher than Saturday’s tally — 164 — an indication that the virus is still spreading within communities.
In a statement, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe stated that the new confirmed cases are aged between one and 83 years.
The cases are spread out across the country as follows: Nairobi (81), Kiambu (26), Embu (20), Makueni (18), Nakuru (15), Nyeri (13), Taita Taveta (10), Busia (10), Mombasa (9), Garissa (8), Kajiado (7), Kisii (6), Tana River (5), Migori (4), Machakos (3), Lamu (3), Narok (3), Kisumu (2), Baringo (2)Bomet (2), Laikipia, Meru and Muranga (2) cases each, Siaya, Vihiga, Isiolo, and Kiifi (1) case each. The CS added that of the new cases, four are foreigners, and that 180 are male while 83 are female.
Concern has been raised over the gender factor as more men still dominate the numbers of those most affected by Covid-19.
The oddity has been difficult to explain, even among scientists.
However, the first study to look at immune response to coronavirus by sex has turned up a clue. The findings published on Wednesday in Nature Journal reveals that men produce a weaker immune response to the virus than women.
The research suggests that men, particularly those aged above 60, may need to depend more on vaccines to protect against the infection.
It stated that overall, women’s bodies produced more T cells, which can kill virus-infected cells and stop the infection from spreading.
Men showed much weaker activation of T cells, and that lag was linked to how sick they became. The older the men, the weaker their T cell responses.
As of Sunday, Kenya had tested a total of 450,146 samples for the disease, strengthened systems in support of home-care for patients and rolled out a campaign for more community involvement in curbing the virus.
