All inferences on the novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection being circulated right now are derived only based on the condition of the first 100 to 130 patients, and a lot more may come out in the coming days, participants at a panel discussion said here on Monday. The event was organised by the Regional Science Centre and Planetarium, Kozhikode, on its campus.
Pointing out that though around 40,000 cases of infection had been reported from across the globe so far, A.S. Anoop Kumar, consultant, department of critical medicine, Baby Memorial Hospital, Kozhikode, said most observations were based on the examination of 100-odd patients. He added that though the mortality rate was only around 2%, the number of dead people could be higher as the number of infected patients were in thousands. “The infection need not be severe in around 80% of patients. Only around 20% of them may need hospitalisation. Only around 8% may have to be admitted to the intensive care unit,” Dr. Anoop Kumar said.
Concurring with this, A. Asuma, Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri, Malappuram, it was yet to be proved if a person without symptoms could spread the infection. “Studies and research on the subject are still going on,” she pointed out. “The mortality rate could also come down if we take out the number of patients from China from the total number of infected population. A large majority of infected patients are now in China itself, in Wuhan city of Hubei province,” Dr. Asuma said.
P.M. Anitha, Professor, Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri, spoke about the testing of body fluid samples of patients. Jane Paul, Head Nurse, Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, explained the infection control mechanisms being implemented in isolation wards.
K.P. Aravindan, former Professor, Pathology, Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, moderated the session.
