So far, around a quarter of people infected during the outbreak of a new coronavirus have developed severe respiratory infections, and around 3 per cent have died. With the numbers still climbing alarmingly fast, many groups are already rushing to try to find treatments for the virus.
A vaccine that stops people being infected by the new coronavirus would obviously be better than any treatment, but that is some way off. “A vaccine would take at least a year, if not more,” ......................................................... says virologist Jonathan Ball at the University of Nottingham in the UK.
The good news is that a few existing drugs might help save lives in the meantime. And new treatments could be developed in as little as six months.
There are two ways of treating viral infections ....................
One is to find small molecules that stop viruses replicating by interfering with viral proteins. Antivirals are usually simple to manufacture, and can be taken in pill form, both big advantages.
But 99 per cent of potential small-molecule drugs fail, says Ball. So developing new antivirals from scratch could take years.
The second way is ..................
to use the same weapons our bodies use: antibodies. Antibodies are large proteins that bind to viruses and trigger their destruction.
When people are infected with a new virus, it can take two weeks for the body to produce enough antibodies to fight it off. Injecting people with antibodies made by cells growing in a vat can keep viruses in check until a person’s immune response kicks in fully.
Antibodies are less likely to cause side effects than small-molecule drugs, because they bind more specifically to viruses whereas small-molecule drugs tend to stick to lots of other things as well. This means we should be able to find safe and effective antibodies against the 2019 coronavirus very quickly – the problem will be mass producing them fast enough.
In fact, a team in China has already tested antibodies against the coronavirus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2002, and found one that binds to the new coronavirus as well. But team leader Tianlei Ying at Fudan University told New Scientist it could take one or two months just to make enough of the antibody to start tests in animals and people.
There are two antibodies for treating the MERS coronavirus that have already been tested in people. The US biotechnology company that makes them, Regeneron, says they are unlikely to work against the 2019 coronavirus, but it will test them and others. While developing antibodies for Ebola, it took Regeneron six months to get to the stage where human tests could begin.
A Chinese company called WuXi Biologics announced in a press release that it is establishing a 100-strong team dedicated to developing antibody treatments for the 2019 coronavirus. It says it might be able to start mass production in a record four or five months.
By that stage there’s a chance the outbreak could be over or millions might be infected – in which case making enough would not be easy. There are not many antibody factories, says Ball, and they are all already busy producing antibodies for treating cancer and other diseases.
There might be a shortcut. ...........................
Instead of making antibodies in a vat, a US company called RenBio instead injects the genes coding for them into leg muscles. Antibody production in the body continues for weeks or even months, so these injections could be given to people to prevent infections as well as treat those who are already infected.
“Both are possibilities,” says the head of RenBio, Neal Padte. But this has only been tested in animals, so health authorities may be reluctant to try it.
There are a few existing small-molecule drugs that might help. For instance, an experimental antiviral called galidesivir developed for treating Ebola is active against coronaviruses, says its US maker, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals. It has already passed safety tests in people.
“The company is in active dialogue with relevant US public health authorities to ensure that galidesivir is available to them,” says John Bluth at BioCryst, though he did not say how fast production could be ramped up.
Most promisingly, two drugs given together to treat HIV – called lopinavir and ritonavir – are already approved for human use, and in small trials they seemed to reduce disease severity and fatalities in people infected by the SARS or MERS coronavirus.
Doctors in Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak, have already started a randomised controlled trial of lopinavir and ritonavir. “Given the scale of the outbreak in China, you would hope to get a to get a reasonably quick answer to whether these interventions work,” says Ball.
“The manufacturing for these is already in place and they are easily available.”
People who have been around someone with a confirmed infection should be identified and monitored. If they develop any symptoms, they should be isolated and treated until laboratory testing can be done to determine if they have 2019-nCoV.
Screening with clinical case definition. .......................................
Because there are likely many unreported cases, we need to use a clinical case definition, a checklist of symptoms and risk factors suggestive of infection, to screen people not known to be contacts of infected people but who have concerning symptoms. Because 2019-nCoV, like SARS, causes such ubiquitous symptoms, a case definition includes whether patients with these symptoms have been in an area with known transmission or around people who have. Those who screen positive should be isolated and treated until tested and, if positive, quarantined until they are no longer capable of transmitting infection.
These strategies are already being implemented. However, if it turns out that asymptomatic transmission — transmitting the disease by someone who displays no symptoms — is possible, all contacts and people who have been exposed to areas with known transmission would also need to be tested, regardless of whether they show any signs of illness. This is not currently being done.
These approaches may suffice to contain the spread of 2019-nCoV in countries, such as the United States, where there have been only a few cases (all with links to recent travel to affected parts of China) and in places yet to be affected. However, in affected parts of China where transmission is already widespread, these strategies will face major challenges in containing the spread of the virus.
Since virtually anyone living in an area of transmission could have been exposed, any of the thousands who develop a fever or a cough each day need to be isolated and treated while awaiting laboratory testing. This does not appear to be happening in the Chinese lockdown zones where hospitals, some of which cannot even test for 2019-nCoV, are overrun and patients are being turned away without being tested.
Chinese authorities are setting up screening checkpoints throughout the country. In the city of Wuhan, the epidemic’s epicenter, they are rapidly building two large hospitals with a combined total of 2,300 beds for isolating, testing, and treating 2019-nCoV; they hope to have the hospitals operational within two weeks. But 2019-nCoV may have already spread so extensively that even 2,300 beds might not be enough in a city of 11 million.
What is more, it may not be possible to establish such hospitals in every affected city or transport patients from far-flung areas to these centralized facilities. In addition, diagnosing 2019-nCoV requires specialized equipment and personnel that may be difficult to scale to test the thousands of people who need it.
If people without symptoms are capable of transmitting the virus, it would be impossible to test entire city populations.
A system could immediately be established to take test samples from patients with concerning symptoms who are not severely ill and then send them home with protective respirator masks, instructions on hand-washing to prevent the further spread of the disease, and orders to remain at home until the test results come back. If hospital beds are still limited, patients found to be positive who aren’t severely ill could remain isolated and be treated at home and be only hospitalized if their condition worsens. This approach could preserve precious hospital capacity for those who need it most and prevent people who turn out not to have the disease from being infected in hospitals while awaiting laboratory results.
Rapid diagnostics. ...................
Another measure that could prove essential is the development of rapid, “point-of-care” diagnostic tests that do not require specialized equipment or technicians and can provide results within minutes. (They are similar to the glucometers used by diabetics to monitor their blood sugar.) Such tests do not yet exist for 2019-nCoV. But they could be developed and manufactured for use within months as opposed to the year or more it would likely take to develop and test vaccines for safety.
Similar to the way U.S. hospitals use rapid-screening swabs during flu season, these tests could be widely used at hospitals, checkpoints, and even households to screen anyone who develops suspicious symptoms or, if asymptomatic transmission proves possible, used to test every person every few weeks to ensure no one is unknowingly spreading the virus. Those screened positive should still undergo laboratory testing for confirmation. If used widely, rapid tests could also uncover unknown hotspots and help determine the full extent of this epidemic.
In previous epidemics, there was hesitance by the World Health Organization (WHO) and others to use such tests because of concerns they are not as accurate as laboratory testing. For example, such tests existed during the 2013–2016 West African Ebola epidemic but may not have been deployed because, compared to laboratory testing, they were not as accurate.
However, had they been used for first-line screening with confirmatory laboratory testing done on those found positive, they could have enabled more infections to be detected quickly and drastically reduced the number of patients needing laboratory testing. One study showed that they could have reduced the extent of the epidemic by a third, and another study had even more dramatic results. Thanks to advancing technology, these tests are becoming increasingly accurate; in the case of some pathogens, they are almost as good as laboratory-based tests for detecting infection.
The 2019-nCoV epidemic is evolving by the hour. We need to move swiftly to respond to this threat.
The coronavirus has come at a difficult time for health officials, who may be struggling to contain the human-to-human transmission in the cold winter conditions.
Winter serves as an ideal breeding ground for viruses which have achieved the ability to spread between people, as they are more stable in cold air, and low humidity helps them to “float” for longer.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, he said: “Warm weather is not favourable conditions for the coronavirus.
“Other types of coronavirus infection is usually what gives a cold.
“Colds are more frequent in the wintertime as cold temperatures cool down the membrane on the nose which makes it easier for the virus to enter the body.”
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no wonder Malaysia is relatively immune under high humidity...
It could be far to wait until 6 months later. We would know how DJ to perform from now to Apr 2020. See how the margin players contain their fear during this period.
Indonesia despite having 270 Million population and likely more workers working abroad and mainland chinese within the country...recorded nil patients.
This is a stark difference to Germany where asymptomatic infection took place across person to person in 3 stages even before the first victim showed symptoms.
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Definitely humidity plays a significant role on the spread-ability of the virus. Hotter climate close to the sea like Indonesia...ensures high humidity level. And high humidity is definitely preventing novel coronavirus ability to float for spreading which can only take place within a circumference of 2 meter (just 6 feet!) before it drops to the ground.
Southern Philippines is also similar climate and thus the cases there is also very low.
The main culprit is lacking of transparency in the official data and measures taken to prevent contagious of the infection leading people to FEAR situation. CCP officials are still fighting for power internally and disseminating manipulated information for political purpose. Nobody knows what's really happening except top CCP officials.
FEAR : an unpleasant emotion or thought that you have when you are frightened or worried by something dangerous, painful, or bad that is happening or might happen.
also at high humidity level the virus has to compete with H20 molecules in order to get attached to the nasal mucus membranes and lungs alveolus sites to infect....
Financial market is very sensitive to uncertainty leading to fear situation. It will contagious massively when negative news popped up unexpectedly one another making everyone feeling insecure. Hope US's CDC to come out an independent report of the epidemic development after their team entering China for investigation.
i think investors are not afraid of the coronavirus outside china...its more of the global economic implication of china lock-down on its business activity...
the total new cases will reach a plateau within a week....as the count rise we are seeing currently are those that took place earlier before the lock-down/preventive measures...
People won't fear much if actual data is presented to the public since they know what is really going on. It's not only Hubei being quarantined. Some provinces have implemented quarantine measures secretly. People China don't even know when they can start working now after CNY. What if the shutdown period extend longer period? China domestic demand slumps and It may seriously affect the supply chain globally.
International scientist saying China had been way more transparent compared during SARS time by sharing the genetic codes of the virus immediately...
If you see the no. of infection outside china and determine the infection percentage of those who came out of wuhan before the lock down and extrapolate to the wuhan population...the number of infection cases being reported by China is tallying.
Since it takes 14 days (incubation period) for asymptomatic patients to show signs...we will know the true extent of infection within a week..calculating from 23rd Jan.
The final figure (within next week) will be likely double the amount discovered presently...and then would likely reach a plateau.
Its likely that China would impose the lockdown till the no. of new cases reaches the plateau. (Mid of Feb)
I am interested in only what actions have been taken by CCP and other countries to combat this epidemic to make an evaluation or counter checking with their official data. I would ignore all sweet words.
Information from unofficial channels are a good source to verify the reliability of the official data. It provides certain degree of insights of the real situation. Sometimes, it helps us to make a critical decision before market start heading downturn.
Trump has given sweet talks in his twitter by praising CCP officials prompt actions taken and good transparency....What actions taken by him after giving out candies...
- Evacuating embassy staffs priority and citizen -It will stop issuing new visas to Chinese travelers, and starting Saturday, it will bar any travelers who have been to China in the past 14 days. Singapore citizens, permanent residents and holders of long-term visas will be exempt but will be encouraged to stay home for two weeks in case of infection.
The fatality rate is just 2% and it needs close proximity of 2 meters to transmit (meaning only close contact).
Now the only headache from this virus is the asymptomatic incubation period of 14 days...
Once you physically block people away by 2 meters for 14 days, you basically eliminate chances of transmitting.
............
and thats what all these countries (US & Singapore) are doing after the greenlight from WHO....to avoid unnecessary psychological headache for months ahead in their own countries.
Better to suffer 14 days by making this draconian separation...then living with it later forever...
When the reliability of the official data is questionable...Once trust is broken, people want to read or watch unofficial channels trying to get closer to the real situation. They trend to believe in worst or pessimistic estimation or figures popped up from their minds in order to get a relieve of strong insecurity. Then dinosaur FEAR is magnifying to rule the market.
you can already see the death rate starts to decline now...its not rising as much a the infection rise day by day...even 75,000 the max fatality is only 1500...so be it...
market will be quick to react...the current fear is only how china market will react on Monday...
by Tuesday...all fear will vaporize...
the best news is when fatality rate becomes under control and start to standstill...
then virus fear will definitely be OVER ........................
We won’t be here if we don’t time the market as a trader. High risk low bet... Low risk high bet....Time market correctly to win big to cover losses from incorrectly timing. Win or lose is part of the game and nothing new. What important is consistently making money...may be I am being more conservative.
The situation is still serious. The novel coronavirus spreads quickly and has a relatively long incubation period, and this means the number of confirmed cases in China is still increasing. But at the same time, we need to be aware that its fatality rate is lower than Mers, Sars or even influenza. With the positive impacts of China’s measures rolling in, many experts predict that a turning point may come soon. Cities are in lockdown and grid management systems are in place to restrict movements. Medical teams from across the country coming to the Hubei province’s aid, donations and supplies are arriving in affected areas daily and new, specialised hospitals are nearly complete after only 10 days of construction. Thus far, 243 patients have been cured and discharged from Chinese hospitals, including an 80-year-old senior citizen. All of this is inspiring news. China is confident, capable and sure to win this war against the novel coronavirus outbreak.
If you see the incremental infection per day vs incremental death per day..
Fatality rate was initially 30 for every 1500 new infections...around 2.0%.. But the latest rise is 2500 with death of 40...meaning fatality rate dropped to 1.6%.
This means the true fatality rate is even lesser as only the serious critically ill would have approached health care at the earliest and there were many asymptomatic cases.
true fatality rate could be just 1.0% or lesser if proper healthcare could be provided on time.
Locals outside China infected will only reach 50 by end of the year ....................................................................
out of the 175 infected internationally so far...how many had no directly link with Wuhan from a close contact?
I think it was only germany and japan had wuhan member to local infection of about 4 people in total.
Thats just 4 people infected out wuhan members of 171 in a time frame of 1.5 months as these visitors had been travelling since the infection started early dec in Wuhan.
4/171 = 2% rise over 45 days...
For simplicity, just take the growth rate of 2% for 1 month, in 1 year (12 months), this grows to:
1.02*to the power of 12 = 1.25
This means the infection count size would increase by merely 25% at the end of the year max.
Thats just additional infection to locals international by max 50 person. .......
I think above calculation is perfectly reasonable considering the available data
the above is true provided the current visitors screening level is maintained internationally or if the number of cases from china comes down and becomes under control and screening is back to normal.
This book is the result of the author's many years of experience and observation throughout his 26 years in the stockbroking industry. It was written for general public to learn to invest based on facts and not on fantasies or hearsay....
enigmatic ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Posted by enigmatic ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ > 2020-01-31 17:28 | Report Abuse
When China sneezes, the whole world catches a flu