loading page

The COVID-19‎‏ ‏mortality rate: A comparison between Middle East and top-ten most affected ‎countries
  • Neda Saraygord-Afshari,
  • Mohammad Ali Ranjbar,
  • Effat Alizadeh
Neda Saraygord-Afshari
Iran University of Medical Sciences

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Mohammad Ali Ranjbar
Islamic Azad University of Damavand
Author Profile
Effat Alizadeh
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences
Author Profile

Abstract

Although it seems that the COVID-19 is not as fatal as ‎SARS and MERS, its ‎highly contagious nature ‎have made it a more serious health ‎concern. This new pandemic has affected all aspects of human life, ‎and due to the ‎vast diversity in the nations around the world, it is not possible to adopt a single ‎integrated policy ‎aginst the disease. It is deemed that the ‎outbreak of the COVID-19 potentially can ‎affect the geopolitical dynamics of the world. ‎Thus, considering the unique context of the Middle East, ‎and its impact on many other countries,‎‏ ‏here‎‎‏‎ we tried to compare ‎‏the case fatality rate (CFR), the ‎disease rate (DR), and the ‎crude death rate (CDR) for all the countries located in this region with the ‎top-ten most ‎affected until April 25, 2020. Special attention was also paid to discuss the data obtained ‎in ‎our study with the existing literature. We aimed to explain the effect of significant cultural and ‎‎ideological differences, the enormous differences among the health systems of the countries, and the ‎‎efficacy of the governmental mitigation policies on the variability of the epidemiological factors ‎among ‎the 25 countries included in our list. Speed of action in disease control and high level of ‎testing in ‎Germany, a sizable population of homeless people in the U.S., the concurrence‎y of ‎Influenza A, ‎Influenza B, and the COVID-19 in France, a relatively low hospital capacity in the ‎U.K., the numerous ‎mass demonstrations in Spain, the effect of tough sanctions ‎against Iran, the high number of tourists ‎traveling to Turkey, the coincidence of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and ‎COVID-19 in ‎Saudi Arabia, the complicated military dominance in Egypt, as well as the ‎effect of religious mass ‎gathering in the Muslim countries were some factors which helped us to explain our results.‎