Coronavirus: How first case in UAE was cured

Gulf News

The simple answer: Their own immune system A day after a woman was reported to be cured of the coronavirus in the UAE, Gulf News visits a specialist doctor at Aster Hospital to find out the specifics on how this could have been achieved, as well as preventative measures residents and citizens in the UAE can employ to prevent the spread of the virus.  Full Article here: https://gn24.ae/962dec814db9000  See more at https://gulfnews.com/videos

Transcript

00:00Yesterday, the UAE had its first case of a coronavirus Saphira being cured.

00:04We're here today at Asta Hospital in Algeses to find out how the virus can be cured,

00:09what treatments can be taken and what preventative measures we can take to look after ourselves.

00:14A lot of people are thinking that the coronavirus is something that's very

00:19severe and lethal in all cases but that's not true, is it?

00:23Yeah, that's not true. Actually, coronavirus is like any other, you know, respiratory virus.

00:29Coronavirus group actually causes normal cold, flu in human beings.

00:35But this novel coronavirus which has come is a different one from the animals.

00:41We're suspecting it's from the animals. The source is not completely traced yet

00:45and probably it's a mutant coronavirus. That's why it is more virulent in human beings, okay.

00:51So not all people get very sick.

00:55Most of, like whatever were the statistics we have of the epidemic going in China,

01:00we can see that like a small proportion of the patients are getting sick.

01:06That means if you're healthy, most, it may just pass off as a normal, you know,

01:11cough cold or mild fever. But because of the number of deaths we are seeing and the,

01:16you know, level of infectivity of the virus, we need to be really careful.

01:22Now regarding the case which got cured recently, which has been in news, it is,

01:28see there is no treatment as such for the virus. It is only supportive treatment.

01:32So body's immune system itself cures the virus completely out of the body.

01:38So it must have been a milder version of it, okay. And if it's severe, definitely the patient

01:43requires hospitalization and treatment for other associated complications.

01:49Like suppose the patient develops pneumonia, there is a dip in oxygen level.

01:53You need to supplement oxygen. Maybe there is another secondary bacterial infection happening.

01:58So you need to treat with antibiotic. But for the virus as such, there is no

02:04antidote presently and the WHO and people are working on it.

02:08So probably in the future, maybe we can have something.

02:12I've seen a statistic that says like one in four, only one in four of these cases are severe.

02:17It's quite deceptive because the number, this is all based on the numbers that are coming out.

02:22So presently like around 34,000 plus people are infected.

02:27Out of that, you can see that 800 plus have died.

02:31So if you take a, you know, proportion of it, probably the fatality is like around 2%.

02:38It's all calculation, like more needs to come out to have a real figure.

02:43But it's very difficult to see how many are severe, moderate or mild.

02:49Because the rest of the people are quarantined at home or hospitals

02:53and we don't have that kind of, you know, statistic going all over the place.

02:58So only we can say that the fatality rate is probably this much

03:01and the infectivity is also high at the rate it's spreading.

03:05It may be very difficult to give a figure.

03:08How do you treat then someone with coronavirus, whether it is mild or severe?

03:14How do you treat the sufferer?

03:16See, normally the process here in UAE is that

03:20if a patient comes to a healthcare setup and you suspect a corona,

03:24that is if there has been a recent travel to China

03:28or contact with somebody who is known to be infected with corona,

03:31definitely this patient needs to be screened.

03:34Maybe his cough or cold is not corona.

03:36It may be some other virus.

03:38But what generally if patient is not sick, the patient is quarantined at home itself.

03:43The blood sample is collected, sorry, the swab sample is collected from home

03:48and sent to the national laboratory, which is under the government.

03:51And it's well networked.

03:53So if it comes positive, naturally the government takes action

03:57to isolate the patient and see that it is contained there itself.

04:01In mild cases, it's better it's quarantined at home

04:04because the number of people exposed is less.

04:09Because if in a hospital setting, we can't admit all mild cases,

04:14then it will be flooded with people who are anxious or maybe not corona as such.

04:19So mild cases are usually quarantined at home.

04:22Moderate cases or severe cases which require hospitalization by the normal criteria

04:28if suspected corona are kept in isolation in hospital

04:33and proper precautions are taken so that in case it comes out as corona,

04:38probably we are already been on the safe side.

04:41And you said like in the normal way to treat cold or flu,

04:45that's how you would treat coronavirus.

04:47So you would lots of vitamins.

04:49Yeah, basic things.

04:50These are the basic health tips, okay.

04:53If you are at home, then you should avoid, you know,

04:56going out and, you know, exposing other people

04:59as well as exposing yourself to risk of other secondary bacterial infection.

05:03You should wear a mask.

05:05The patient should wear a mask so that, you know,

05:07his respiratory secretions are not, you know, thrown out at other people.

05:11And people who are taking care of the patient should be extra careful.

05:15So the main thing is mask alone does not protect.

05:17It's basically hand hygiene as well.

05:20Because as of it, what we know is that the virus spreads by droplets,

05:24the respiratory secretions.

05:26So maintaining some minimum distance of maybe one meter would be safe.

05:31And of course, frequent hand washing, not touching your face, eyes,

05:37because once, see the droplets may be there on the objects and you touch them.

05:42And the virus survives for a few days.

05:44And with that hand, if you're touching your eyes, nose, face like that,

05:48you may get infected even if you're wearing a mask.

05:51So hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, and of course, mask in certain situations.

05:56Not all, like the layperson who's walking, going for work need not wear a mask always.

06:02This case was obviously a mild case of the lady that was discharged yesterday.

06:07How do you then treat someone who's severe?

06:10How do you treat that very deep pneumonia?

06:14Those kind of patients definitely require hospitalization in an isolated unit

06:19where there are special personnel taking one-to-one care of the patient with proper protection.

06:24That means it's complete protection of eyes.

06:27And of course, the patient is also, you know, under mask and other things.

06:31And of course, depending on the grade of pneumonia, like any other pneumonia, it will be treated.

06:37That means if the patient requires oxygen, it will be given.

06:40If there is secondary bacterial infection, antibiotics will be given.

06:44In the worst case, maybe patient goes into respiratory failure or there is,

06:48you know, then even, you know, ventilator support may be required.

06:52But these are, we are talking about extreme cases.

06:55The numbers are less actually.

06:57And actually those people who are succumbing to coronavirus,

07:02are they already of low immunity and predispositions to certain ailments?

07:10Yes, yes.

07:10People who are, you know, generally becoming worse are people with underlying comorbid illness.

07:16That means they may be having a long-standing diabetes

07:19or they may be under treatment for some other illness which lowers their immunity

07:23or they may be on some steroid tablets for maybe some other illness.

07:28These people are generally, and of course, age, not all people, elderly need to get sick.

07:34But age is definitely, you know, not a plus point, okay.

07:39So the basic thing is, of course, the severity is there.

07:44Everybody has to maintain a hand and, you know, respiratory hygiene.

07:49And of course, people who are mildly sick with fever or cough, cold or even otherwise sick,

07:55they need to, you know, maintain their health with adequate fluids,

08:01avoid mingling around, stay at home, take rest, you know, hydrate yourself well.

08:07And of course, some supportive medications doctor would be giving, take that.

08:12And unless you are completely cured, don't venture out for work or even outside.

08:17So these are the basic things.

08:19You're making it sound like we shouldn't panic, it sounds like.

08:22Yes, yes, definitely, definitely.

08:25Because the earlier SARS virus was even more virulent than this one, this present corona.

08:30So probably it is not like, except for China, all the other countries have contained it.

08:37There are only few isolated cases which just happened to land there.

08:41And even in UAE, there is no need to panic,

08:44because actually the cases are completely quarantined and they are safe.

08:49So panicking does not help also,

08:52because then people will unnecessarily rush to hospitals.

08:54It will create a pressure on the health care.

08:57So you go about your work normally.

08:59And if possible, avoid too many crowded places where people are sick.

09:04And if you see somebody is sick, maintain the distance.

09:07And if somebody is sick at your home, you also, you know, take appropriate action.

09:12So actually, there is no need to panic,

09:14because definitely there are a lot of bodies working on it and we'll have a way out.

09:22The mask thing, does everyone need, you're saying that only actual coronavirus people

09:26that have been diagnosed have to wear it.

09:29So people are walking around the street, they don't need to wear it.

09:32Lay person need not wear a mask because it doesn't protect.

09:36In fact, if you're not using the mask properly, it will be the other way around.

09:40When you're wearing a surgical mask,

09:42there are gaps through which, you know, bacteria can still, virus can still go.

09:47And people tend to adjust their masks frequently.

09:50And the front side of mask actually filters,

09:54and it may be loaded with pathogens and then you're transferring it onto your hand.

09:58So mask with hand hygiene is what is required.

10:01But lay people who are going for normal work, they need not wear mask.

10:06But for healthcare professional, it's different.

10:08People who are at more risk, higher risk,

10:12for them, you know, maybe the mask, they use it more frequently,

10:17depending on the situation or the persons they are in coming contact with.

10:20So this lady that was discharged yesterday, she would have been quarantined.

10:24She would have been given lots of vitamins, antibiotics.

10:27Vitamins may not have much role, but they are supported.

10:31We can take it, no harm.

10:33She must have been given, if maybe she must have been given antibiotic,

10:37if there is secondary infection, we don't know the details of it.

10:41But since she has come out of it, naturally she has recovered and she has cleared the virus.

10:46And that's mostly because of her own immune system.

10:48Yes, yes, because there is no specific antidote for the virus.

10:52So body clears the virus.

10:54So you support the body with the necessary things to help it come out of it.

10:59There's a theory that HIV tablets can help.

11:02How does that happen?

11:02Nothing has been, you know, like no, nothing has demonstrated till now.

11:08This is so many like rumors keep coming out, but these are not actually verified.

11:13And of course, there's no vaccine yet.

11:15Do you think that we're close to one or not?

11:18Well, it's quite difficult to say because people are working on it and nothing has been till now.

11:24What we've learned today is that not all coronavirus cases are fatal.

11:27In fact, the vast majority of us can pass this off with the strength of our own immune system.

11:32What is important, though, is that if you get diagnosed with coronavirus,

11:35you actually are quarantined to keep you away from people

11:38who could be more susceptible to contracting a severe strain of the virus

11:43and thus be more susceptible to fatalities, say the young or the elderly.

11:48Ashley Hammond, Golf News.

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