COVID-19: Myths and misconceptions

THE EDITOR, Madam:

WORD THAT the first case of COVID-19 has been identified in Jamaica set off panic among residents. There are signs that despite the yeoman effort by the Ministry of Health to educate residents, many have not been listening or reading. The first sign of this is the alarming and unnecessary orgy of spending. This dwarfs the amounts spent during our most devastating hurricanes.

Then there are the mischief makers. A few days ago, someone escaped from a quarantine centre. I understand he is to be charged. I agree. I also think that organisations and individuals who are found to be deliberately panicking the public with falsehoods should suffer a similar fate.

COVID-19 is now a pandemic. It will have devastating consequences on the world’s economies. The extent of this will depend on the extent to which countries depend on external trade and tourism. It would not be a good idea to use the United States as a yardstick as it is clear that their president is observing the problem through the prism of politics. A series of poor decisions, slow responses, and technological missteps limited that government’s ability to respond effectively to the threat.

Perhaps the best place to start is to explode certain myths and misinformation concerning COVID-19: 1

Hot baths will not be helpful. The body’s temperature is between 35 and 37. All that may be achieved is burning the body. 2 Mosquito bites cannot transmit COVID-19. 3 Ultraviolet lamps will not be effective in sterilising hands or other areas of the skin. And UV radiation can cause skin irritation. 4 Thermal scanners can detect people who have developed a fever. However, they cannot detect people who are infected but not yet sick with fever. Remember, it takes two to 10 days before infected COVID-19 people become sick and develop fever. 5 Spraying chlorine or alcohol all over the body cannot kill COVID-19. Remember it is already safely in the body. But these sprays can be harmful to clothes and mucous membranes (eyes, mouth). 6

There is no evidence that pets transmit COVID-19. 7 I restrained myself from correcting a doctor friend who told a group of us that he administered pneumonia vaccines to three persons who requested them as a preventative measure. Pneumococcal and haemophilus influenza type B vaccines won’t work. COVID-19 is so new and different, it requires its own vaccine. 8

Rinsing one’s nose with saline won’t work. 9 Garlic is wonderful. But not for COVID-19. 10 Elderly people with pre-existing medical conditions like heart, asthma, and diabetes are more vulnerable. 11 Stop overloading your system with antibiotics. They do not work against viruses – only bacteria, and can cause severe side effects like anaphylaxis.

There is, at present, no specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat COVID-19. The best way is to keep one’s hands clean with a disinfectant or soap and water. This eliminates viruses that may be on one’s hands and may be transmitted when touching the eyes, nose, and mouth.

INNER CITIES

Living in poor, crowded, innercity communities can complicate the kind of existing health risks that COVID-19 can exacerbate. An outbreak could devastate these communities that, even in the best of times, face serious medical challenges.

I can’t promise that I will journey to Montego Bay on a crowded minibus. But is this panic necessary?

There is a blog post claiming that Kem Daryl, a Camaroonian student, was cured of COVID19 in China. The article further claimed that unnamed Chinese doctors attributed his recovery to his ‘blood genetic composition’ and that the antibodies of a black person are three times stronger, powerful, and resistant compared to that of a white person.

Some have hastened to state that this claim of black people being resistant to the virus is false. I imagine this is because scientists rely on empirical evidence. And this has not been proven. But let’s look at some facts while the scientists are quibbling over what is not scientifically proven.

COVID-19 is now in 115 countries. Some 118,000 persons have been infected and 4,291 have died. The African continent is the second most populous continent, with 1.216 billion people. Yet there is just one reported COVID19 death there. Oh! And when I decided to investigate the circumstances of this death, it was revealed that it was not a black African, but a 60-year -old German tourist who turned up in Egypt sick and refused to be quarantined.

Perhaps a fifth form biochemistry student could ‘run wid’ this one.

Until we know more, the exhortation is to detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilise people in the response. If this is done, it is still possible to change the course of this pandemic

‘There is, presently, no specific medicine recommended to prevent or treat COVID-19. The best way is to keep one’s hands clean with a disinfectant or soap and water.’