Are asthma patients more susceptible to COVID-19?

Are asthma patients more susceptible to COVID-19?

Dubai: As a dust squall blows over many emirates and humidity levels rise and the air is thick with allergens such as pollens and silica, chronic asthma patients fear it may trigger a respiratory distress. In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, while wearing face masks has brought down the incidence of allergic asthma attacks, doctors advise chronic patients to exercise extra caution to prevent COVID-19, which could exacerbate their respiratory distress. Dr Julio Gomez-Seco, lead consultant in pulmonology and sleep respiratory medicine at the Fakeeh University Hospital, Dubai, explained: “Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) an estimated 300 million people suffer from it, worldwide, which impacts quality of life and productivity. It is also responsible for 500,000 fatalities worldwide annually.” According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) United States, in the UAE, while there has been no reliable data on its incidence, a 2009 survey conducted on 1,220 randomly selected residents showed the prevalence of asthma in about 146 patients. This represented 12.1 per cent incidence in the sample. Moreover, of those identified with asthma, about two-thirds reported having sudden and severe attacks, which impacted the productivity