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Covid19/SARS-CoV-2. Panic but make it informed panic.


fygjam

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There are enough threads about bog roll shortages or air travel restrictions or medical requirements.

I thought a thread devoted to the science and medical information might be useful.

Let's see how it goes.

 

First off. Testing for the SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19 disease. At present there is no serological (blood or antibody) test for the virus. So no little plastic slide where a drop of blood is placed at one end and 5 minutes later one or two pink lines appear in a window at the other end.

At the moment testing is done on nose and throat swabs using a technique called RT-PCR so roll the video. Might explain why they don't want to perform unnecessary tests.

 

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What happens if you get Covid-19 real bad. You get Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome or ARDS.

I did have a video which was more specific to Covid-19 but can't find it at the moment. This one is more general but covers the main points.

The more specific video said that Covid-19 sufferers who experience ARDS need to be placed on a ventilator for about 5 days in an ICU.

Roll the video.

 

Edited by fygjam
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Link to South China Morning Post

Coronavirus can travel twice as far as official ‘safe distance’ and stay in air for 30 minutes, Chinese study finds

  • Authorities advise people to stay 1-2 metres apart, but researchers found that a bus passenger infected fellow travellers sitting 4.5 metres away
  • The scientists behind the research said their investigation also highlighted the importance of wearing face masks because of the length of time it can linger
Stephen Chen in Beijing  (Updated: 1:36am, 10 Mar, 2020)
  • Researchers said the case highlighted the importance of wearing masks on public transport. Photo: Reuters
Researchers said the case highlighted the importance of wearing masks on public transport. Photo: Reuters
 

The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 can linger in the air for at least 30 minutes and travel up to 4.5 metres – further than the “safe distance” advised by health authorities around the world, according to a study by a team of Chinese government epidemiologists.

The researchers also found that it can last for days on surfaces where respiratory droplets land, raising the risk of transmission if an unsuspecting person touches it and then rubs their face and hands.

The length of time it lasts on the surface depends on factors such as temperature and the type of surface, for example at around 37C (98F), it can survive for two to three days on glass, fabric, metal, plastic or paper.

These findings, from a group of official researchers from Hunan province investigating a cluster case, challenge the advice from health authorities around the world that people should remain apart at a “safe distance” of one to two metres (three to six and a half feet).

Several passengers became infected during the four-hour bus journey. Graphic: SCMP
Several passengers became infected during the four-hour bus journey. Graphic: SCMP

“It can be confirmed that in a closed environment with air-conditioning, the transmission distance of the new coronavirus will exceed the commonly recognised safe distance,” the researchers wrote in a paper published in peer-review journal Practical Preventive Medicine last Friday.

The paper also highlighted the risk that the virus could remain afloat even after the carrier had left the bus.

The scientists warned that the coronavirus could survive more than five days in human faeces or bodily fluids.

 

They said the study proves the importance of washing hands and wearing face masks in public places because the virus can linger in the air attached to fine droplet particles.

“Our advice is to wear a face mask all the way [through the bus ride],” they added.

Their work was based on a local outbreak case on January 22 during the peak Lunar New Year travel season. A passenger, known as “A”, boarded a fully booked long-distance coach and settled down on the second row from the back.

The passenger already felt sick at that point but it was before China had declared the coronavirus outbreak a national crisis, so “A” did not wear a mask, nor did most of the other passengers or the driver on the 48-seat bus.

China requires closed circuit television cameras to be installed on all long-distance buses, which provided valuable footage for researchers to reconstruct the spread of the virus on the bus, whose windows were all closed.

Hu Shixiong, the lead author of the study who works for the Hunan Provincial Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, said the security camera footage showed patient “A” did not interact with others throughout the four-hour ride.

But by the time the bus stopped at the next city, the virus had already jumped from the carrier to seven other passengers.

These included not only people sitting relatively close to “patient zero”, but also a couple of victims six rows away from him – roughly 4.5 metres away.

They all later tested positive, including one passenger who displayed no symptoms of the disease.

After these passengers left, another group got on the bus about 30 minutes later. One passenger sitting in the front row on the other side of the aisle also became infected.

Hu said the patient, who was not wearing a mask, was likely to have inhaled aerosols, or tiny particles, breathed out by the infected passengers from the previous group.Aerosols are light-weighted particles that are formed from tiny droplets of bodily fluids.
 
“The possible reason is that in a completely enclosed space, the airflow is mainly driven by the hot air generated by the air conditioning. The rise of the hot air can transport the virus-laden droplets to a greater distance,” said the paper.
 
After getting off the shuttle bus, the initial carrier got on a minibus and travelled for another hour. The virus jumped to two other passengers, one of whom was also sitting 4.5 metres away from patient “A”.  By the time the study was finished in mid February, patient “A” had infected at least 13 people.It is generally believed that the airborne transmission of Covid-19 is limited because the tiny droplets produced by patients will quickly sink to the ground.
 
This belief has prompted the Chinese health authorities to suggest that people should stay a metre apart in public and the US Centres for Disease Control recommend a safe distance of six feet (about 1.8 metres).  The researchers also found that none of those passengers in the two buses who wore face masks were infected.They said it vindicated the decision to ask people to wear a face mask in public.
 
 “When riding on more closed public transportation such as subways, cars, planes, etc, you should wear a mask all the time, and at the same time, minimise the contact between your hands and public areas, and avoid touching your face before cleaning,” they said.
 
 
The researchers also suggested improving sanitation on public transport and adjusting the air conditioning to maximise the volume of fresh air supplied.They also said interiors should cleaned and disinfected once or twice a day, especially after passengers arrive at the terminal.A doctor in Beijing involved in the diagnosis and treatment of Covid-19 patients said the study had left some questions unanswered.For instance, the passengers sitting immediately next to the carriers were not infected, though they were suffering the highest exposure to the disease-bearing aerosols.“Our knowledge about this virus’s transmission is still limited,” he said.
 
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Coronavirus can travel for 4.5 metres.
Edited by Evil Penevil
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Quote

These included not only people sitting relatively close to “patient zero”, but also a couple of victims six rows away from him – roughly 4.5 metres away.

These guys could have got it from touching a surface the infected guy had touched so the article doesn't prove or disprove the safe distance "rules".

 

Quote

At the moment testing is done on nose and throat swabs using a technique called RT-PCR . . . .

Yet the Chinese changed the measuring technique used to generate the numbers to include X Rays as it was quicker, hence a rapid jump in numbers a few days back.

I think these two points (and there will be more) show that we can't believe all we see or read as there's so much still to learn and people, including doctors and scientists, are just making their best guess.  These guesses will be guided by their knowledge/experience/learning but also the thought of covering their a**e, as that's inherent in medicine almost everywhere.

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Scary stuff this virus is. Canada just recorded its first death, on a “mere” ~ 60 cases nationwide. But as much as I thought we had it under control, just read an article that claims it could still infect 35-70 % of our whole population ! Our free health care system already has hospitals running at 120 % of capacity, so this could be a crippling blow. There has to be a quick test made so people can know and isolate themselves, but before that, what? Everyone who leaves their home needs a mask and gloves, even in 40C weather? 
 

Crazy to see how bad it’s gotten in Italy so fast, you want to be positive, but what will be the death toll there when it’s all said and done?

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2 hours ago, KWA said:

These guys could have got it from touching a surface the infected guy had touched so the article doesn't prove or disprove the safe distance "rules".

That struck me, too. Also, how do they know the infected individuals actually picked up the virus ON the bus?  What to say they didn't catch it through surface contact IN THE TERMINAL before they boarded, maybe from someone who wasn't on the bus?   Or on the way to the bus station?  Or earlier in the day in their own neighborhoods?

Evil

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2 hours ago, KWA said:

Yet the Chinese changed the measuring technique used to generate the numbers to include X Rays as it was quicker, hence a rapid jump in numbers a few days back.

I saw elsewhere that the Chines were claiming CT scans could identify those infected.

While x-rays or CT scans can probably identify those with lung inflammation I doubt that they can identify the causative agent. That would no doubt be presumptive based on other factors.

 

 

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Does anyone believe the Chinese .. I sure don't ....

You expect them to be honest about the Wuhan Virus when they cannot even be honest in a simple business deal .. LOL .. sorry, I am not trying to take this virus not seriously ...

But -- no way I will ever believe the Chinese government about shit .. they weren't even honest when this virus smacked them in the ass ...

And the WHO which is now currently managed by a Chinese national ( a government employee ) I don't believe either ....

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6 hours ago, Golfingboy said:

Scary stuff this virus is. Canada just recorded its first death, on a “mere” ~ 60 cases nationwide. But as much as I thought we had it under control, just read an article that claims it could still infect 35-70 % of our whole population ! Our free health care system already has hospitals running at 120 % of capacity, so this could be a crippling blow. There has to be a quick test made so people can know and isolate themselves, but before that, what? Everyone who leaves their home needs a mask and gloves, even in 40C weather? 
 

Crazy to see how bad it’s gotten in Italy so fast, you want to be positive, but what will be the death toll there when it’s all said and done?

heard last night on local TV news,that Italy has the 2nd oldest population in the world,on average.and that could the reason why so many deaths.

me iam just going to be very careful where I go and what I touch.me being 75 and some wee health problems,i will be for the chop forsure.

regards

grayray

 

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2 hours ago, grayray said:

heard last night on local TV news,that Italy has the 2nd oldest population in the world,on average.and that could the reason why so many deaths.

me iam just going to be very careful where I go and what I touch.me being 75 and some wee health problems,i will be for the chop forsure.

regards

grayray

 

Stock up on the Bundy  !!!  
 

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The latest video from the Medcram channel.

It discusses a possible treatment for Covid-19 using zinc and Chloroquine, a malaria medication.

Zinc has long been speculated on as a "cure" for the "common cold". The problem has been getting the zinc into cells. Chloroquine may provide the pathway.

 

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Direct links to various national and international entities dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data Sources:

Source: Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering

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On 3/11/2020 at 11:13 PM, Evil Penevil said:

This is a good source for up-to-date statistics on COVID-19.  Below is a screenshot from The Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Coronavirus-JH.jpg

i saw this setup a while ago and was going to save it and follow  but the circles are so big, that they envelop areas not infected, to make it look even worse than it is.    BTW from current figures.. death rate in china, according to their figures! is 3.9%  global  its 3,7%  recovery rate in china, where its been for longer...78%  global 54%  but thats not a fair comparison yet due to the timeline

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