Paris, March 1 (AFP/APP): As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases across 61 countries hit 86,000, on Saturday with nearly 3,000 deaths to date, the profile of those most at risk of dying is coming into focus, experts told AFP. But the overall mortality rate remains uncertain, they said. The World Health Organization raised its global risk assessment to its top level Friday, with the global health crisis edging closer to a pandemic. Among those infected with the virus, older adults with preexisting heart conditions or hypertension face a sharply higher risk, according to preliminary statistics, including from a study covering more than 72,000 patients in China. Among a subset of 44,700 infections confirmed through lab tests as of mid-February, more than 80 percent were at least 60 years old, with half over 70, said the study, that was published in the official China CDC Weekly. Initial reports from outside China are similar, with the first 12 victims reported in Italy mostly in their 80s, and none under 60. Several had known heart problems. Men in the China study were more likely to die than women by a margin of almost 3-to-2. But whether that was due to behaviour — … Continue reading Coronavirus: who is most at the risk of dying?