Coronavirus under-reported among Guyanese in NY

Apr 14, 2020 Letters

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Dear Editor,

The Guyanese-American community is facing an onslaught of coronavirus-related deaths that are impacting families and devastating the varied enclaves of Guyanese in New York City. The official count is 34, but is certain to be much higher.
Several Guyanese-American victims are not listed as Guyanese but as Americans. The numbers of deaths, and of others afflicted with the virus, is a wakeup call among Guyanese at home and in the diaspora and other ethnic communities, to practice social distancing in order to avoid contracting this deadly virus.
Based on my personal investigations and conversations with Guyanese in the greater New York area, it is believed the number of victims of the Coronavirus is not exactly known. It is under-reported, though not deliberately so.
In this outbreak, a researcher has to interpret fatality or inflicted rates with skepticism. When I was doing research on Molecular Cell Biology during the late 1970s and early 1980s at City College, I recall reading articles in journals and books that spoke about underreporting of pandemic deaths, including during the several plagues the world suffered, because medics were not certain of cause of deaths and counts were taken long after hundreds died.
Today, in the US and probably true in other countries as well, only the very severe cases of the pandemic come to the public’s attention and are included in the official count.
I learnt about several deaths that are not among the names mentioned in some circles and also several deceased that may have been Coronavirus victims are simply reported as pneumonia or heart-related.
People would say their family members died and the causes given are pneumonia, diabetes, flu, or heart complications, etc. Those causes immediately raise an alarm. People with the preceding health complications and high blood pressure are easy victims of the coronavirus. (I should note that because the virus is highly contagious, family members are prohibited from visiting their loved ones during their hospital stays. Attendance at funerals is also limited to less than ten. However, social distancing was not practiced among some family members who opted to attend home wakes and even burials – many unnecessarily, became of victims of coronavirus ignoring warnings).
One primary reason why reported Coronavirus numbers are suspect, is that medical institutions only recently ( in March) started doing testing for Covid-19, and may have missed coronavirus-related deaths or those who got the virus in January and February. Moreover, not every deceased that died from pneumonia-like or heart or diabetic or high blood pressure complications was tested. Thus, maintaining an accurate death toll from Covid-19 has been a challenge for medical institutions, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and government, and as such under-reporting. Lack of adequate testing resources have affected the official counts of those who had/have the virus as well as deaths. I won’t be surprised if hospitals backtrack on cause of previously reported deaths that are pneumonia- or heart- or other disease-related.
As doctors and reports note, the effects of this or any pandemic disease are very complex and death tolls are very hard to tally accurately. The Coronavirus triggers a deadly pneumonia and it also puts a heavy strain on the heart, that can increase blood pressure and trigger a fatal heart attack. Those with severe cases of diabetes are easy victims of Covid-19 and deaths can be seen as diabetes-related.
With regards to the actual number of cases among Guyanese or the American population at large, that number for sure is also misleading. Not everyone with flu-like symptoms is tested. If someone has a mild case of flu, he or she is noted tested. The health departments and clinics and hospitals denied tests to tens of thousands.
The US was under-prepared for this pandemic. There are not enough test kits to check everyone who displayed symptoms. So doctors vet patients at hospitals. For mild flu, some medicine (cough mixture) and antibiotics are given, and the patient sent home to rest and stay isolated for two weeks.
Some patients with milder symptoms have been turned away from hospitals since early March because of the strain on resources. Others, including family members, have opted to self-isolate and use traditional home cures (Breathing in steam from water, orange or citrus fruit skin and spices seem to be working to break up pneumonia cold, clearing up the lungs to allow for normal breathing, though not scientifically monitored as a cure. Guyanese swear it helps them recover from flu-like symptoms. I too tried it, and it seems to be working so far, though I can’t say I have the virus).
What people are learning is that hospital should be a last resort if you suspect you have mild flu-like symptoms – try traditional home cure (oranges, Vicks, steam, fever grass and other hot tea throughout the day). Hospital does not have enough beds or ventilators for everyone with the flu, but are doing their level best. The governments (local, state, federal) are doing everything to contain the disease and are complimented for effort.
I urge Guyanese to practice social distancing and stay home unless they really need to go out for basic foods and medicine, or else they could become a victim of the virus, reported or under-reported.
Yours truly,
Dr. Vishnu Bisram

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