The recent CoronaVirus pandemic has emerged as a serious global health concern. It has led to the death of more than 600 people in China and more than 30,000 are still infected with the disease. The Chinese government is trying its level best to contain the spread of this disease and the entire city of Wuhan has been quarantined. It is an extremely infectious disease and has spread to more than 25 countries including the US and India.
It has no proven cure yet and the treatment is based on symptoms shown by patients. The mortality rate from this viral infection is around 2-4%, which is lesser than that of the SARS epidemic in 2003. However, the current viral strain is highly infectious and even 15-30 seconds of contact with an infected person can spread the disease. It reminds us of the deadly Spanish Flu of 1918 which had wiped out 3-5% of the global population, in impact only less than the Black Plague of the Middle Ages. The Spanish Flu had led to around 17 million deaths in India alone and its effect was visible in negative population growth in India in the decade of 1911-1921.
The international community needs to learn from the current outbreak. A proper policy needs to be developed to prevent transmission of such novel viruses from animals to humans. Moreover, the communication protocol needs to be transparent to flag such issues in real to minimize loss of life. The medial R&D needs to develop a broad range of medications that can be effectively used during such flu outbreak.
It has no proven cure yet and the treatment is based on symptoms shown by patients. The mortality rate from this viral infection is around 2-4%, which is lesser than that of the SARS epidemic in 2003. However, the current viral strain is highly infectious and even 15-30 seconds of contact with an infected person can spread the disease. It reminds us of the deadly Spanish Flu of 1918 which had wiped out 3-5% of the global population, in impact only less than the Black Plague of the Middle Ages. The Spanish Flu had led to around 17 million deaths in India alone and its effect was visible in negative population growth in India in the decade of 1911-1921.
The international community needs to learn from the current outbreak. A proper policy needs to be developed to prevent transmission of such novel viruses from animals to humans. Moreover, the communication protocol needs to be transparent to flag such issues in real to minimize loss of life. The medial R&D needs to develop a broad range of medications that can be effectively used during such flu outbreak.
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