The common side effect of Covid-19 that makes you more likely to die has been revealed by coronavirus experts.

Researchers at an educational establishment in the UK have identified a common symptom of coronavirus which puts you at a heightened risk.

Sheena Cruickshank, Professor in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Manchester, explained that your level of inflammation is a major factor to your death risk.

She wrote: “While many factors contribute to how severely people are affected, including access to healthcare, occupational exposure and environmental risks such as pollution, it’s becoming clear that for some of these at-risk groups, it’s the response of their immune system – inflammation – that explains why they get so sick.”

Common symptoms of coronavirus include persistent, continuous coughs, as well as high temperatures and fevers.

Covid-19 also presents itself through a sudden loss of taste or smell, too, according to the official signs and symptoms listed by the World Health Organization.

Professor Cruickshank explained: “Cytokines can be really powerful tools in the immune response: they can stop viruses reproducing, for example.

“However, some cytokine actions – such as helping bring in other immune cells to fight an infection or enhancing the ability of these recruited cells to get across blood vessels – can cause real damage if they are not controlled. This is exactly what happens in a cytokine storm.”

Professor Cruikshank said: “Inflammageing is characterised by having high levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. It’s influenced by a number of factors, including genetics, the microbiome (the bacteria, viruses and other microbes that live inside and on you) and obesity.”

“Many older people also have fewer lymphocytes – the very cells that can specifically target and destroy viruses.

“This all means that for some older people, their immune system is not only poorly equipped to fight off an infection, but it is also more likely to lead to a damaging immune response.”

She added: “The more we understand about these differences and vulnerabilities, the more we can consider how best to treat each patient. Data like these also highlight the need to consider variation in immune function and include people of varied demographics in drug and vaccine trials.”