Daily Times

Despite many boundaries put in place by the federal government, with disputed opinions, coronavirus has finally made an entry in Gilgit in north and Karachi in the south of Pakistan, without a visa or a passport. After 40 countries confirm new coronavirus cases as the outbreak surged outside China, the pathogen has finally increased one more country: Pakistan. Precautionary measures are being taken in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after two coronavirus cases were confirmed in the country.

Coronavirus has drawn the attention of everyone, with major focus by scientists. The BMC Infectious Diseases Editorial Board, in their recent writing, reveals that the Beta-coronaviruses have caused major epidemics in the last two decades. In 2003, SARS-CoV was discovered in China, before spreading globally, infecting 8,098 people and killing 774. This was later found to be zoonotic in origin and thought to have started amongst a bat reservoir before infecting wild cats and raccoon dogs that were being sold at live wild animal markets meant for human consumption.

Coronavirus is not new. In 2012, MERS-CoV was discovered in Saudi Arabia before spreading globally, resulting in 2,506 confirmed cases and killing 862 people worldwide. Again, that started as a zoonotic virus, shown to move from camels to humans; it was also thought to have initially emerged from bats.

On 30th January 2020, WHO declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern with change in status from endemic to pandemic.

The current wave of infection requires not only an immense public health and medical response but also an immense research response. Important scientific questions need to be answered swiftly in order to inform policymakers on where to direct their response capacities and what to expect. Epidemiologically, the transmission rate of the virus needs to be calculated in order to model the number of cases to be expected. The modes of transmission need to be described so that proper prevention actions are taken. The cases need to be characterised so that the most severe and most likely-to-die patients are taken care of first. Laboratory researchers would need a copy of the virus in order to study its transmission and pathogenicity and work towards finding a vaccine or a cure. Importantly, the animal reservoir through which humans become infected must be identified in order to break the initial transmission cycle.

Recent developments reveal that in China, the death toll is on decrease and the rate of infection is significantly down; however, new cases of the novel coronavirus cropping up across Europe are being traced back to the dramatic outbreak in Italy, Spain, Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom through patients who tested positive for the virus after travelling to parts of northern Italy that have been stricken by the epidemic.

Spanish health authorities have confirmed three unrelated coronavirus cases, two women and a man, who had all travelled to Milan before falling ill. In Germany, a 32-year-old man is being treated for coronavirus after having travelled to the Lombardy region of northern Italy, where cases of the virus are heavily concentrated. The man, who began suffering flu-like symptoms upon his return, is now being cared for in a hospital isolation unit.

The world seriously seems to be at the brink of a coronavirus pandemic. Harvard scientists suspect that 70 percent humans are likely to get the virus.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The most recently discovered coronavirus causes coronavirus disease, COVID-19, which spreads from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. People can also catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who coughs out or exhales droplets. Therefore, it is important to stay more than one meter (three feet) away from a person who is sick.

Saudi Arabia on February 27, 2020 placed an immediate ban on umrah pilgrims travelling from the countries including Pakistan where coronavirus cases have been confirmed. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza on Thursday visited the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Iran to review the precautionary measures adopted after the coronavirus outbreak in Iran. He stated that the federal and the provincial governments were taking adequate measures to handle the situation. He added that the provinces and the federation were confident to tackle the coronavirus.

The World seriously seems to be at the brink of a coronavirus pandemic. Harvard scientists suspect that 70 percent humans are likely to get the virus

Keeping the same pace, the Punjab government has announced a high alert across the province after coronavirus cases were reported in Karachi and Islamabad. Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah announced a “task force”, comprising chief secretary, health secretary, commissioner Karachi and other senior officials, with special instructions to make all the necessary equipment available to hospitals to prevent an epidemic. Balochistan, on the other hand, has extended the winter vacation.

All this has been done after two cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in the country, one in the Karachi metropolis on February 26. The Sindh government has established isolation wards at Dow University Ojha Campus, Civil Hospital, Lyari Hospital, Mirpur Khas Hospital, PIMHS Nawab Shah, LUMHS Hyderabad, and CMCH Larkana, according to a briefing by the health secretary. Five new state-of-the-art scanners have been installed at airports and import tax on items related to the treatment of the virus is being abolished.

Administrative arrangements are appreciated, but, despite stricter steps being taken globally, the virus has changed its status from endemic to the pandemic. It is, therefore, extremely important to embark upon mass education through print and electronic media to keep the nation aware of on-going and upcoming issues pertaining not only to coronavirus but all human health-related sufferings.

Research funding agencies must come forward and give priority to coronavirus research by providing long-term, large-scale funding for emerging coronaviruses that have thus far caused three major epidemics within the last sixteen years alone. A large portion of this funding should be dedicated to conducting surveillance for coronaviruses in their natural hosts, allowing researchers to understand the ecology of those pathogens. In addition, conducting risk-assessment studies to understand which viruses may pose the greatest risk to human health inexorably aid the design of future prevention plans.

Researchers and responders must adopt the “One Health” concept in their efforts. Repeatedly, emerging zoonotic viruses such as coronaviruses, animal influenza viruses, Ebola, and others prove to be of important global public health concern, highlighting the fact that the health of people, animals, and ecosystems are inherently intertwined.

The most disturbing aspect of this whole novel is the sale of masks at very high rates across the country. The government must act against such a brutal act and seal such sale points and put responsible behind the bars.

The writer is Chairman, Department of Parasitology, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam