Many Nigerians woke to the shock news on Saturday that Abba Kyari, President Buhari’s Chief of Staff and confidant had died, 26 days after it was reported that he had contracted COVID-19, during his trip to Germany and Egypt in the wake of the Pandemic.
The last statement by Mr. Kyari released the second week he tested positive for the viral infection, revealed that he was asymptomatic, expected to recover fast and that he was transferred to an unknown facility in Lagos for “additional tests and observation” at his personal cost. Although a report by Sahara Reporters revealed that his transfer to a private facility in Lagos breached the Quarantine Act and cost the Nigerian government millions of public funds.
Although medical treatment abroad may not have been an option for the late Kyari during his struggle with the disease because foreign health systems were overloaded with COVID-19 patients and the spread of the virus had forced many governments to impose travel restrictions, his status as the most influential person in Nigeria’s presidency gave him access to the best medical treatment in the country.
What affected his chances of survival?
The late Abba Kyari had pre-existing medical conditions. He was an asthmatic patient who routinely had breathing problems that made him visit London hospitals, according to Farouk Kperogi.
The West African Pilot News also reported that Mr. Kyari was diabetic.
Diabetes ranks second on the list of Covid-19 comorbities by the New York Department of Health – comorbidity being one or more diseases or conditions that occur along with another condition in the same person at the same time.
Although asthma is not on the COVID-19 comorbidity list, the question has been whether asthma causes worse outcomes for COVID-19 patients.
Dr. David Hill, a board member of the American Lung Association told New York Times that a worst outcome situation for COVID-19 patient with asthma is dependent on the severity of the disease (asthma) and age.
Although asthma is underrepresented in COVID-19 patients with asthma that are sick enough to seek treatment, according to New York Times, Dr. Linda Rogers, a specialist in Pulmonary medicine at the Mt. Sinai Health system said she would not want to exclude asthma as a potential problem as it is well known that viral infections are the No. 1 cause of asthma flares in both children and adults under normal circumstances.
COVID-19 has no known vaccine. Frontline medical workers manage the disease by treating symptoms and hope the COVID-19 patient’s immune system fights back. While diabetes is a known immunocompromising disease, older people are considered immunocompromised because their system may not be strong enough to fight the disease and asthma may complicate the recovery process.
These medical conditions and old age may have compromised Abba Kyari’s immunity and reduced his chances of winning COVID-19.
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