COVID19 An Elusive Virus : Time To Cooperate

Amjed Jaaved :
The common symptoms of Covid-19 are dry cough, fever, sore throat, tiredness and respiratory difficulties. However, there is no consistency in the virus’ behavior. Unlike Cov19’s cousins SARS and MERS, Cov 19 patients may be symptoms-free, peddling the virus around. To identify asymptomatic patients, doctors notice a pink eye, sudden loss of smell or taste, and now Covid toes. Dermatologists in Italy found sudden surge in inflammation in toes in March. Dermatologists in Europe and America are discussing a new potential symptom to identify a Covid-19 patient, particularly if the novel coronavirus has infected kids and young adults. In March, some dermatologists in Italy found an inflammation of toes and feet, and discolouration of the organ of those suffering from Covid-19.
This condition is akin to frostbite or pernio, a condition found among people living in harsh winters in polar and sub-polar regions. There, blood vessels in the toes get aggravated inflammation and toes tend to have serious spasm. ‘Covid Toes’ have surfaced in the US, like Boston. As such, American Academy of Dermatology recommended coronavirus tests for kids visiting them with ‘Covid Toes’.
Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are FDA-approved to treat or prevent malaria treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. As yet, there is no proven retroviral drug. Germany and United States have tested some vaccines. A drug Tamiflu, effective against Respiratory Syndrome and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, and Remdesivir (Gilead Sciences Inc.), originally tested on Ebola, is being experimented on COVID19, besides HIV medicine Kaletra / Aluvia (lopinavir / ritonavir (AbbVie), besides Avigon (Japan). A Cov 19 patient recovered from convalescent plasma therapy in India. But, results elsewhere are not similar. Use of herbal medicines like kalonji (black seeds), kadha (herbal tea), and their ilk have doubtful efficacy. According to preliminary research in France, Nicotine could protect people from contracting the coronavirus. But, it kills 75,000 smokers every year.
Since this is tantamount to a “crime against humanity”, the lawyer claims, the ICC should probe the issue. China regards the allegations as `ludicrous’.
Since outbreak, the virus is changing its strains. The virus has belied the doctors’ belief that the virus has a regular strand of respiratory difficulty .It is now increasingly attacking other organs including kidneys, heart, intestines, liver and brain. Patients have begun to develop blood clots Positive cases are now resulting in oxygen levels so low the host should be unconscious or near death. Patients with a seemingly mild condition are deteriorating in minutes and dying on their couches at home. Connection between age and pre-existing illnesses of affected patients is a mere conjecture. It is questionable whether governments should really be lowering safety measures, though question of lives versus livelihood remain.
The US Senate Republican campaign arm distributed a 57-page memo to Grand Old Party (Republicans) candidates, advising them to address the coronavirus crisis by aggressively attacking China. A Florida-based law firm, on behalf of Florida residents, has filed a case in a southern Florida court against the Chinese government, accusing it of failing to curb the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, and letting it become a pandemic that has killed tens of thousands of people and caused huge economic damage. Another US state, Missouri, sued the Chinese government over its handling of the virus, seeking damages for what it described as deliberate deception and insufficient action to check the outbreak.
Also, an Australian parliament member proposed taking back land owned by Chinese companies in Australia as compensation for China “transmitting” the virus. Some NGOs in India have filed a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Council, demanding that China be made to pay “compensation” to the international community for the losses the pandemic has caused. Besides, an American lawyer has filed a “case” in the International Criminal Court accusing China of “intentionally developing” the novel coronavirus as a “deadly biological weapon”, claiming the failure of the Chinese government and military “to prevent the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s personnel from becoming infected with the bioweapon and then carrying the virus out into the surrounding community and proliferation into the United States”.
The world should join hands to develop vaccines, plasmas, and drugs to beat the virus. It is time to cooperate not dissipate energies on blame game.
(Amjed Jaaved is editor to The Consul. He writes from Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He is author of seven e-books including Terrorism, Jihad, Nukes and other Issues in Focus)