Diabetes problem makes Africa more vulernable to COVID-19 death, says WHO

FILE PHOTO: Director General of the Ghana Health Service Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye receives the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine during the vaccination campaign at the Ridge Hospital in Accra, Ghana March 2, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Death rates from COVID-19 infections are much higher in patients with diabetes in Africa, where the number of people with diabetes is growing rapidly, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

A WHO analysis of data from 13 African countries found a 10.2% case fatality rate in COVID-19 patients with diabetes, compared with 2.5% for COVID-19 patients overall.