There is no dearth of expert and not-so expert opinion on the novel coronavirus. Opinions vary about how it can be contained, the measures taken and also the way ahead. Here is what three medical experts have to say:
Hyderabad-based gastroenterologist Dr D Nageshwar Reddy
Spelling a lot of hope, De Reddy says there is no need to panic and we can conquer the virus, which is seasonal. Talking exclusively to The New Indian Express, he said that this virus has a different genome sequencing in India compared to countries like Italy.
“This has a lot of significance because in the Indian virus, there is a single mutation occuring in the spike protein of the genome. Spike protein is the area that attaches to the human cell. One small mutation has happened, making that attachment weak. So, this will become an important factor for India. However, in the Italian virus, three mutations have occurred, making it more deadly,” he said.
We should follow a more balanced approach after the lockdown period, where we can do more testing, he said. According to Dr Reddy, long periods of lockdown could be counter-productive in terms of mental health due to paranoia and other factors such as lack of Vitamin D, which will bring down the immunity and anyway make people more vulnerable to the virus.
Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, founder-chairman, Narayana Health.
“We are not at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic just yet. We could hit it at the end of April or in early May. We are just about a month behind the United States on this,” he said speaking to The New Indian Express.
The lockdown should bring done the mortality rate by at least 50 percent provided we follow it up with measures like testing. local lockdown and rigid adherence to social distancing.
Testing may not help in treating the patient but it will definitely help in segregation, quarantining and also localising the lockdown if required.
Disturbed mental status due to confinement can definitely alter the immunity but I hope it is not very common
As for the economic impact, economics will matter only when we are all alive, so it is important to get our priorities right.
Dr Rahul Potluri, pioneer in using big data in healthcare research at UK’s NHS and at KIMS, Hyderabad.
Weighing economic factors against public health is always an issue. Lifting the lockdown before the virus can be completely beaten will only cause more long-term problems in the economy, in the eyes of many experts, he said while speaking The New Indian Express. The lockdown can be lifted, sooner rather than later, if people adhere to the policies, and if the virus toll stays low. If particularly in a place like India where we are not doing extensive testing, the number of deaths are not vastly increasing and the healthcare system can cope with the number of new cases coming without being at full capacity or beyond. If all of these happen, then certainly the lockdown can be lifted but not before that.
The main advice is don’t take the coronavirus as ‘not a serious problem’. The coronavirus is a serious problem. We have not seen the likes of it for over a 100 years since probably the Spanish flu pandemic. People are dying.
