Pathologists performed an autopsy of the first deceased from a new coronavirus in China. From COVID-19, the lungs of the infected were most affected. Whether the virus infects other organs is not yet known.
The results of the examination are published in the journal Journal of Forensic Medicine . Experts examined the body of an 85-year-old man. He was hospitalized in January. Doctors found a patient with multiple cerebral infarction.
When the Chinese were first taken to the hospital, he had neither a high fever, nor cough, nor other symptoms characteristic of coronavirus. Itching in the throat and fever in an elderly person appeared on the 10th day of observation. Computed tomography revealed infectious foci in both lungs.
The diagnosis of the man was confirmed on the 13th day of hospitalization. A new type of coronavirus viral nucleic acid test was positive. A week later, the patient had a second tomography – the infection spread further. The patient died on the 28th day due to pneumonia and respiratory failure. Pathologists took the body for examination 12 hours after the death of a Chinese man in Wuhan Hospital.
The autopsy documents say “damage to the deep parts of the airways and pulmonary alveoli.” It is due to the pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus. In addition, according to experts, the pathology with COVID-19 is similar to the effects of SARS and the Middle East respiratory syndrome.
“An anatomical autopsy showed that pulmonary fibrosis and compaction in the lungs with COVID-19 are not as serious as with SARS, but the exudative reaction is more noticeable,” the doctors emphasized.
Pathologists admitted that there is still insufficient evidence of a virus infection in other internal organs. The deceased Chinese was elderly and, due to his age, suffered from other diseases. Further research is needed to clarify this issue.
An outbreak of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus occurred in China in December 2019. The causative agent was soon given the official name COVID-19. According to the latest data, the number of infected in the world exceeded 83 thousand people. Doctors failed to save 2,858 patients.
