The final novel coronavirus, the final work
THE MYTHS, THE FACTS, THE DEBATES, THE UNKNOWNS
we are at war can never be overemphasised. Despite this war having been raging for about nine months now some people still just seem not to know what is going on or just don’t care.
Sometimes I just wish I could stand on top of Lusaka’s Findeco House with a big megaphone screaming my lungs out reminding the people that our formidable adversary knows no rest and is claiming lives day by day.
I passionately want to reach out to as many people as possible before corona itself reaches to them; for there is no telling what it can do.
I’m doing this not as the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health as I am extremely far from that. I write these articles in my own capacity as a frontline medical doctor who has attended close to 200 Covid-19 patients in the hope that most, if not all of us can at least start seeing things from the same lens.
I do put in a lot of energy and time. Usually I write around 03 hours. This is my gift to Mother Zambia in whose soil my umbilical cord is buried.
I hope you’ll take what you read with the seriousness it deserves and then take necessary action as we are all soldiers in this war and literally so even in God’s eyes. Each one of us has a role play in defeating this invisible enemy.
In the coming series, I will be sharing knowledge on Covid-19 with some stories of success and some of the battles lost at the battlefront.
Also a segment called “In their own words,” in which I will be interviewing Covid-19 patients, those who have recovered and those in isolation, with their identities withheld of course as a matter of privacy, especially that there is still stigma associated with this disease in some sectors of the community.
As words or information is the greatest weapon in every battle so is this one. Amidst so much information some so outrageous I have taken upon myself to try and share with the public.
To begin with, I think let’s start from the basics, just what is going on here, where did we come from, how did we get ourselves where we are now and where are we likely going.
Some of the many myths, conspiracy theories and just weird things that have been said and are still being said about Coronavirus are as follows:
*Its 5G related.
There have been rumours that coronavirus came about as a side effect of trying to increase cellular network connectivity from 4G 4th Generation to 5th Genetration 5 G.Samsung was the first phone to have 5g.
Of course this is not true, the virus has nothing to do with 5g or any orher Gs.
*Global conspiracy to vaccinate people and enrich some people like Bill Gates etc.
I would have been very rich by now, probably closing a deal on buying an airport in Dubai or some exotic island in the pacific.
*Sexually transmitted
Once I had a patient who was being stigmatised by her community saying she got corona from having sex with truck drivers.
*It’s the Mark of the beast 666.
*Affects only the rich those with passports. (bakumayadi ba mu Lusaka).
Really? * It was engineered in the lab for population control.
* Someone was on Radio recently saying for there to be Covid-19, it means there has been Covid-1 to Covid-18 before and that since we survived the first 18 there is no need to fear the 19th.
The following facts are currently agreed upon by the general scientific community.
We will talk about the origins of the virus, its transmission, Covid-19, treatment, preventive measures, then also areas of research .Today will only end on Transmission.
Treatment and the rest will be tackled later.
*This Corona Virus is called “The novel” because it’s a new form of Corona viruses.
As a group corona viruses have been around for a very long time. They mostly live in bats and avian birds which are believed to be their natural reservoir. Some other types of corona viruses ae those that cause the common cold (chinfine).
As long as they stay in their reservoir there is no problem, but the moment they mutate and then jump from bats to an intermediate then mutate again and jump to humans and then mutate again and pass from human to human, then there is trouble, very big trouble as we are experiencing at the moment.
The word CORONA VIRUS was coined in 1966 by June Almeida and David Tyrrell to describe the appearance of these viruses under an Electron Microscope, which appear as a crown
*SARS COV 2 which stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 is the name given to this virus as it resembles the SARS virus of 2003 by about 70 percent;
* SARS COV 2 causes the disease Covid-19 which is short for Coron Virus Disease of 2019.
* First cases were reported in China somewhere in late 2019 November, December.
* Declared a Pandemic WHO.
Transmission
To forget everything else I have written so far is ok but to by ignore this part then both you and I have failed humanity and we should urgently seek for forgiveness from both our progenitors and descendants.
This is the most important part of my article, for its here you and I can make a difference.
The Infectiobility of Sars Cov 2.
Corona virus is believed to have an r note that is a reproduction number of 2 to 3, this means one infected person can infect up to 2 to 3 people.
Le’ts say its 3 this means 1 person infects 3 new people who each infect 3 new people and the cycle goes on and on such that by the 3rd cycle about 40 people will be infected and that can be in just a couple of days, by the 10th cycle about 80, 000. This is why corona virus spreads so fast and has the potential to infect everyone on this globe.
Respiratory droplets are the main routes of transmission. They are classified as small, intermediate and large according to their sizes. Small are less than 5 microns in diameter, the intermediate are between 5 and 100 microns and the large ones are over 100 microns. The diameter of human hair is about 80 microns, in comparison viruses are very tiny particles, ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 micron. The size of corona virus particles called virions is about 0.06 microns to about 0.3.These are the main ways currently agreed upon as way through which coronavirus spreads.
*Droplet transmission. This involves respiratory particles of about 5 to 10 microns in diameter. When an infected person not wearing a mask releases these air particles from their saliva, cough, sneezes, or sings. These are believed to fly balistically in the air up to about a meter away.
*Aerosol Transmission borne transmission)
These are air particles less than three microns. Recent multiple studies have a shown that coronavirus can spread by this route as well. These small particles are able to travel up to (aireight meters away and can stay in the atmosphere up to about three hours.
This simply means it can spread just like TB hence even one meter social distance is not enough. This simply means it can spread just like TB hence even one metre is not enough.
Some studies in China found such aerosols with coronavirus particles in air conditioners of rooms that housed Covid-19 patients, while some have shown infection transmission during choir practice, fitness classes and in restaurants.
In addition to masking up and socially distancing, good air ventilation, avoiding indoor meetings and crowded places are essential.
*Contact Transmission This occurs when contaminated hands touch the mucosa of the mouth, nose, or eyes; Hands pick the virus from fomites, that is contaminated places such as doors, etc where it can stay in these places even up to days. This puts especially marketeers at risk who have to constantly handle cash that has passed so many different hands. Hand hygiene is extremely important to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus
*Also possibility of faecal Oral to be discussed later.
Transmission can be imported that is across borders usually through planes. This was the most common way the virus spread fron China to the rest of the globe. Also it can be through roads like our borders in Chirundu bordering Zimbabwe or Nakonnde bordering Tanzania.
Once in the country there can be local transmission from the infected person to close contacts.
There can also be Hospital transmission where infected person passes it on to other patients and health care workers.
Finally there is Community spread which means people have been infected with the virus in an area, some are not even sure how or where they became infected. Here is where we are now as a country.
So please kindly consider EVERY PERSON you meet as a potential carrier of the virus and has the potential to infect you and others and you should as well consider yourself as such.
With this brief background information I hope we can all play our part by observing the laid down health measures. Remember if we don’t it’s either we are committing suicide by putting ourselves at risk or indeed committing murder by putting others at risk.