We have been facing epidemics and pandemicscaused by viral diseases for the last several decades but never had we starteda blame game and targeting a particular country as in 2019/20 with the outbreakof COVID-19. Is it justified?
Some of the well-known epidemics have been:Spanish flu 1918-20, Swine flu 2009-2010, Human Immunodeficiency virus disease(HIV) 1980’s, EBOLA Viral Disease, 1976, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS) 2002-2003: Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)2015-18 andfinally the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)2019 onwards
(COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, HUBEI, China and has since spread globally. It has resulted in the ongoing pandemic and whole world knows about the details about this highly contagious disease which has been reported till the time of writing in around 2.6 million patients with 1,77,704 deaths and 6,96,104 recoveries. The total mortality being around 6.94%. the mortality is highest in people more than 50 years and those with underlying illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
How did the Corona virus transform into a human virus is still a matter of scientific deliberation and debate? Whether it started from the sea food market in Wuhan or from the virology laboratory 12 kms away is a moot question? The provinces administration appeared to hush up the matter initially. The scientific community in China however reported it to the world as early as December 2019 as a cluster of cases in Wuhan district. The World Health Organization (WHO) first put it up as a first disease outbreak news as early as 5th of January 2020. They issued a comprehensive package of technical guidance online with advice to all countries on how to detect, test and manage potential cases, based on what was known about the virus at the time. A Chinese doctor, N Zhu and others published the first detailed report of this disease as early as 24th January 2020 in the most prestigious international journal New England Journal of Medicine (New Engl J Med 2020; 382:727-733. DOI: 10.1056) on line and most other journals on Medicine including The LANCET brought it up with innumerable publications mainly from China and then later from USA and Europe. This they did while being involved in the outbreak, a commendable job deserving appreciation.
The WHO declared the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020. The Chinese scientists were able to isolate a strain of the coronavirus and publish the genetic sequence so that the laboratories across the world could independently develop polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to detect infection by the virus. There is no question of hiding the scientific facts about this highly contagious novel viral disease. In fact most of the path breaking research to understand it was done by Chinese scientists only along with international experts. Some of them even succumbed to the disease,
We do not blame Africa for HIV-AIDS andEBOLA and France / USA for Spanish Flu and USA for Swine flu, because itstarted there. In spite of all the information shared by the scientificcommunity of China of the world the warning did not register on most of thenations in the world initially. This led to its spread in all the continentsand every country is now affected. Most countries ignored it.
We in India did a mega extravaganza inAhmadabad on 24th February, 3 weeks after WHO had declared COVID19 as a publichealth emergency of International concern and also its preventive measures likesocial distancing etc. This was clearly a part of our ignorance and laxnesswhich was also displayed by several countries worldwide. In fact, nobody everimagined the consequences of it despite enough scientific literature beingavailable in January 2020 itself.
Incidentally the first case in India wasdetected on 31st January. The initial part of the epidemic in India was unfortunatelyattributed mainly to Tablighi Jamaat alone and even the responsible media onlyhighlighted that, giving it unnecessary religious overtones. The parliamentsession and MP assembly did not suspend its working till 23rd March forpolitical ambitions of the ruling party. The much-needed lock down in Indiastarted after fulfilling this necessity on 25th March and is continuing tilldate. The country has taken the lock down very seriously and prime ministerModi has made very bold and good decisions The abruptness of the firstannouncement however led to serious issues which could have been avoided.
As of 23rd April 2020, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has confirmed a total of around 22000 cases and 681 deaths in the country. Experts suggest the number of infections could be much higher as India’s testing rates are among the lowest in the world.
It is now difficult to forecast what liesin the future for us in India as also for the humanity in general. It appearsthat life has come to a grinding halt and has taken a turn in a totallydifferent direction. This is a big question mark for the entire humanity andcoming times are going to be very challenging, difficult and un predictable.
It is a time to introspect where did theworld go wrong rather than keep blaming each other especially China alone forthis holocaust? We are all responsible for this together and need to find asolution which goes beyond the search for a universal drug which kills thisvirus or the advent of a much-awaited vaccine. If we don’t do this futuregenerations will not forgive us.
Incidentally the first case in India wasdetected on 31st January. The initial part of the epidemic in India wasunfortunately attributed mainly to Tablighi Jamaat and even the responsiblemedia only highlighted that giving it unnecessary religious overtones. Theparliament session and MP assembly did not suspend its working till 23rd Marchfor political ambitions of the ruling party. The much-needed lock down in Indiastarted after fulfilling this necessity on 25th March and is continuing tilldate. The country has taken the lock down very seriously and prime ministerModi has made very bold decisions The abruptness of the first announcementhowever led to some serious issues which could have been avoided.
As of 23rd April 2020, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has confirmed a total of 22000,cases and 681 deaths in the country. Experts suggest the number of infections could be much higher as India’s testing rates are among the lowest in the world.
It is now difficult to forecast what liesin the future for us in India as also for the humanity in general. It appearsthat life has come to a grinding halt and has taken a turn in a totallydifferent direction. This is a big question mark for the entire humanity andcoming times are going to be very challenging, difficult and un predictable.
It is a time to introspect where did we gowrong rather than keep blaming each other especially China alone for thisholocaust? We are all responsible for this together and need to find a solutionwhich goes beyond the search for a universal drug which kills this virus or theadvent of a much-awaited vaccine. If we don’t do this future generations willnot forgive us.
Author is a Cardiologist and Scientist, Past president of the Cardiological society of India and SAARC Cardiac Society. Recipient of Padmashiri and Dr B C Roy Award.