A new emergency

The Wuhan coronavirus is here. The emergency will stretch India’s scarce medical resources and the formal declaration by World Health Organisation can only add to the panic. The preparedness in cities and towns with a basic health infrastructure and airport screening processes has been fine so far and there has not been a single death outside China yet. The coronavirus mortality rate is around only three per cent as compared to MERS (35 per cent), SARS (10 per cent) and Ebola (50 per cent). But, alarmingly, in at least four countries — the United States, Germany, Japan and Vietnam — the virus has transmitted human to human, infecting those who have not been to China.

A Kerala woman studying medicine in Wuhan has been declared the first confirmed case in the country and it is a good sign that she is recovering. The only problem is this virus may be incubating in many China returnees and there is really no predicting how widely silent carriers have been transmitting a virus strain that has shown an ability to quickly spread through large droplets. Home quarantine has been recommended for those who have come back and their discipline to stay isolated will be tested in the days to come.

China has responded as only a totalitarian state can in containing the outbreak. Precautions have been widely publicised but it is worth repeating that the mask could be more useful for people on the move and that washing hands — for 20 seconds at least with soap and water — is far more likely to help keep the virus out. Keeping a distance from those showing any symptom of influenza and use of alcohol rubs and awareness about not touching objects in public spaces might help in remaining uninfected. Remember a vaccine is still some time away.