Hi. I Have Alpha-1 With XXXXXXX Allele. I Am A

Question : Hi. I have Alpha-1 with XXXXXXX allele. I am a US citizen currently living in Kenya. With the cornavirus pandemic we are considering traveling back to the US - XXXXXXX I’m worried about the risks to exposure/contracting Covid-19 during flying and screening etc. I read on Alpha1.org “Since COVID-19 causes primarily fever and respiratory symptoms, often leading to pneumonia in susceptible individuals, people with Alpha-1 are likely to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of this coronavirus infection” Please can you advise risks for AATD with XXXXXXX allele. I need to understand risks so we can make a decision to travel back to the US or hunker down here in Kenya. Thank you!

Thank you for your response. Myself, my husband and 3yo son are all completely healthy currently. We would all practice aseptic precautions if we travel. We have been practicing social distancing and frequent hand washing for 2 weeks here in Kenya. I would never travel with symptoms and risk exposing other people. We can continue to stay here in Kenya if the risks of contracting the virus traveling is too great. To better understand the risk to me with AATD - XXXXXXX allele; in what ways am I more vulnerable? Are we talking permanent lung damage? Hospitalization? I%E2%80%99m young and healthy - I don%E2%80%99t smoke or drink or work around chemicals - but I realize I don%E2%80%99t make as much AAT protein to protect my lungs. I am trying to understand - would Corvid-19 attack my less protected lungs more than a normal persons lungs? Currently Kenya only has 7 cases - all from travelers flying in - they caught some with temperature readings at airport. Where we live in XXXXXXX there are 160 cases. I want to hunker down where ever I%E2%80%99m best protected and if air travel is required make sure I understand all the risks of exposure with my condition as well as all precautions to take. Thank you soo soo much for being available for me in this difficult time!