{"id":46839,"date":"2020-03-11T18:38:34","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T17:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=46839"},"modified":"2020-03-16T15:41:32","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T14:41:32","slug":"carl-heneghan-assessing-mortality-during-the-covid-19-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/11\/carl-heneghan-assessing-mortality-during-the-covid-19-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"Carl Heneghan: Assessing mortality during the covid-19 outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the 31st of December 2019, the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, was first reported to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/westernpacific\/emergencies\/covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">World Health Organization<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Since then, 118,468 confirmed cases and 4,267 deaths related to Covid-19 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldometers.info\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">have been reported<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldometers.info\/coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">case fatality rates (CFR)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> vary significantly across countries. In China, the CFR is 3.9% (3136\/80761); in Italy it is 6.2% (631\/10149). However, testing can introduce a selection bias that significantly overestimates the CFR, particularly if only more severe cases are tested. In South Korea, where <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/south-korea-coronavirus-testing-death-rate-2020-3?r=US&amp;IR=T\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">wider testing of milder cases<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has occurred, the CFR is a much lower, 0.77% (58\/7513). Italy, however, has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2020\/03\/coronavirus-wreaks-havoc-italy-tests-limits-health-system-200307112350888.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">tested over 42,000 people<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Italy\u2019s ageing population may partially explain the higher CFR: the average age of those who have died in Italy is 81. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In China, the CFR for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2020\/03\/coronavirus-covid19-cov2-wuhan-china-virus-disease-risks-fatality-rates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">over 80s is nearly 15%<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an outbreak, understanding the case fatality rate matters. However, the impact on overall rates of death can provide vital information about the effect in the population at large. Essential questions to answer include: are the number of deaths rising? How do they compare with previous years? And in this current outbreak, are the respiratory deaths on the rise?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To answer these questions, the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/birthsdeathsandmarriages\/deaths\/datasets\/weeklyprovisionalfiguresondeathsregisteredinenglandandwales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Office for National Statistics <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">provides data on deaths registered weekly in England and Wales. The latest data was released on the 10<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> March, with data up to week 9, ending 28 February 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2020\/03\/carl_heneghan_table_covid.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-46843\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2020\/03\/carl_heneghan_table_covid.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1136\" height=\"422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2020\/03\/carl_heneghan_table_covid.jpg 1136w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2020\/03\/carl_heneghan_table_covid-300x111.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2020\/03\/carl_heneghan_table_covid-1024x380.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2020\/03\/carl_heneghan_table_covid-768x285.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2020\/03\/carl_heneghan_table_covid-640x238.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1136px) 100vw, 1136px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the first nine weeks of the year, all deaths in England and Wales peaked in week 2 at 14,058. By week nine, deaths reduced by 24% to 10,816. The peak in winter of circulatory and respiratory diseases &#8211; that cause about half of all deaths &#8211; gives rise to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/chapter\/10.1007\/978-3-319-64820-0_9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">seasonal effect<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Deaths due to all respiratory diseases have decreased by more than a third (36%) from a peak of 2,477 in week two, down to 1,581 by week eight (there is a delay in cause-specific mortality data which can be subject to small variations). ONS data also shows that deaths over the last six weeks have been an average of 3% less than the previous five years (see table).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The direction of this trend now matters. In 2019 the low peak for all deaths was the 31st May when 8,260 deaths occurred; the low point for respiratory disease deaths occurred on the 30th Aug with 854 deaths (nearly two-thirds less than the peak rate of that year).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the UK, there are currently 456 cases of Covid-19 and eight deaths. The seasonal peak in winter respiratory illnesses has occurred; the normal year on year trend would see a continued downturn in infections and deaths. However, it is too early to tell: the next few weeks will determine whether the trend for a reduction in deaths is maintained, or whether the Covid-19 outbreak takes hold and leads to more infections and rising mortality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The current data tentatively suggest that public health measures may be impacting on all respiratory deaths\u2014which can only be a good thing. The restoration of public health measures could be a significant force for good. Irrespective of what happens next, they should be maintained. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cochrane.org\/CD006207\/ARI_physical-interventions-to-interrupt-or-reduce-the-spread-of-respiratory-viruses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The evidence supports the promotion of simple measures <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">such as hand washing, which significantly impact several respiratory viruses that seasonally kill a lot of people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/06\/ebm_logo_large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-44747\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/06\/ebm_logo_large-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/06\/ebm_logo_large-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/06\/ebm_logo_large.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>publishes\u00a0original\u00a0evidence based research, insights and opinions on what matters for health care. (<a href=\"https:\/\/ebm.bmj.com\/pages\/authors\/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA3IPgBRCAARIsABb-iGJ_GVoX8r6tJc_X9p31vzRnTo_S2Z4U1AiXX4UgblkOQ5Un4q6-Vm0aAmewEALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/ebm.bmj.com\/pages\/authors\/?gclid%3DCj0KCQiA3IPgBRCAARIsABb-iGJ_GVoX8r6tJc_X9p31vzRnTo_S2Z4U1AiXX4UgblkOQ5Un4q6-Vm0aAmewEALw_wcB&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1559659893257000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEguf6V8-Scr2cK6LpTbtAENShhyw\">Instructions for authors<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><b><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/03\/carl_heneghan2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-38834\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/03\/carl_heneghan2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/03\/carl_heneghan2.jpg 160w, https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/03\/carl_heneghan2-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\" \/><\/a><\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Carl Heneghan<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is the Editor in Chief <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/ebm.bmj.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">BMJ EBM<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and Professor of EBM, Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Competing interests: <\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">CH has received expenses and fees for his media work. He holds grant funding from the NIHR, the NIHR School of Primary Care Research and the NIHR Oxford BRC. CH is also Director of CEBM, which jointly runs the <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/ebmlive.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">EvidenceLive<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Conference with the BMJ and the <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.preventingoverdiagnosis.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Overdiagnosis Conference<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> with international partners, based on a non-profit making model.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">THE ONS data on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/birthsdeathsandmarriages\/deaths\/datasets\/weeklyprovisionalfiguresondeathsregisteredinenglandandwales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">deaths<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> can be accessed here and will update on the 17th March 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(The Case fatality data in this report is from the 10th March 2020)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the 31st of December 2019, the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, was first reported to the World Health Organization. Since then, 118,468 confirmed cases and 4,267 deaths related to [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/11\/carl-heneghan-assessing-mortality-during-the-covid-19-outbreak\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-health"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Carl Heneghan: Assessing mortality during the covid-19 outbreak - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2020\/03\/11\/carl-heneghan-assessing-mortality-during-the-covid-19-outbreak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carl Heneghan: Assessing mortality during the covid-19 outbreak - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On the 31st of December 2019, the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, was first reported to the World Health Organization. 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