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With more than 200,000 coronavirus cases worldwide and thousands of deaths, a striking pattern is appearing in the hardest-hit countries: More men are dying than women.

No where is this trend more pronounced than in Italy. Men make up nearly 60% of people with confirmed cases of the virus and more than 70% of those who have died from covid-19, according to the countrys main public health research agency.

On the other end of the spectrum is South Korea, where about 61% of confirmed infections have been in women. Though far fewer patients have died, the majority of fatalities 54% were again in men.

As the pandemic escalates, epidemiologists and public health authorities are scrambling to understand who is most vulnerable and how to protect them. The data from countries such as Italy and South Korea show that the disease can take wildly different paths.

Exactly what makes a group vulnerable and how to protect them has experts mystified, said Carlos del Rio, chair of the department of global health at Emory University. This difference in mortality is creating a lot of anxiety, he added.

The outbreak of covid-19 in Italy is the deadliest in the world. As of March 17, more than 40,000 people there have been sickened with the virus, and 3,405 have died. That means that, based on these current and unavoidably incomplete figures, 8.2 percent of people infected in the country have died. That is more than double the global figure presented recently by the WHO.

Italys aging population is probably particularly susceptible to the disease, researchers say. With a median age of 46.5, according to the CIA World Factbook, it is the fifth oldest country in the world. And these elderly citizens are those who have become the sickest: People over the age of 70 represent more than 87% of deaths there.

Older people are typically hit harder with respiratory diseases, del Rio said. They are more likely to get pneumonia an infection that inflames the lungs and fills them with fluid or pus and to have underlying health conditions that could make them vulnerable to the virus.

With older people, del Rio said, sometimes it doesnt take very much to push you over the edge.

The gender disparity in illness and death is harder to explain. Even before the covid-19 pandemic reached Italy, early reports out of China suggested men were especially at risk. A study of 99 patients at a hospital in Wuhan, where the virus originated, found that men made up two-thirds of patients, and half of all the people who were hospitalized had chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. More recent figures from Chinas Center for Disease Control, based on tens of thousands of cases, showed a strong gender breakdown of deaths, which were 64% male.

But the figures in Italy have been even more staggering. Nearly 60% of diagnoses have been in men, according to Italys top health research agency, Istituto Superiore di Sanit. Across the first 1,697 coronavirus deaths, 71% 1,197 were in men. Just 29%, or 493, were in women.

In a recent study published in the Lancet, meanwhile, the figures were even higher. It found that 80% of the deaths were in men and just 20% were in women.

It is certainly possible that as death tolls rise in other countries, the pattern of greater male deaths seen so far in Italy, China, and South Korea could shift. But so far, this is what the evidence shows in the two countries with the largest death tolls, Italy and China, and in a third country (South Korea) acclaimed for keeping very good tabs on the disease.

The honest truth is that today we dont know why covid-19 is more severe for men than women or why the magnitude of the difference is greater in Italy than China, said Sabra Klein, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. What we do know is that in addition to older age, being male is a risk factor for severe outcome and the public should be made aware.

The gendered death gap was also seen in the smaller SARS and MERS outbreaks, added Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University.

Its clearly something that has happened consistently with coronaviruses, it could inform clinical practices and improve patient outcomes, and its definitely a question worth investigating, she added.

These statistics could be a product of behavior, biology, or both, scientists say.

For one thing, demographic figures suggest many men have more health risks to begin with. In China, Italy and South Korea, women tend to live longer than men, according to the World Health Organization.

Men also drink and smoke more in all of these countries, particularly in China, where 48% of men above 15 smoke compared with just 2% of women, according to the WHO. Probably not coincidentally, men in these countries also tend to die more frequently from heart disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases between ages 30 and 70.

But there are also underlying biological differences between men and women that may make covid-19 worse in men, several researchers pointed out. Years of research have found that women generally have stronger immune systems than men and are better able to fend off infections. The X chromosome contains a large number of immune-related genes, and because women have two of them, they gain an advantage in fighting disease, according to a recent study in the journal Human Genomics. Studies have also found that estrogen was protective in female mice infected with the virus that caused the 2003 SARs outbreak. During that epidemic, men had a much higher case fatality rate than women.

When [a] severe outcome is caused by an inability to rapidly control the infection, then it is often adult males who suffer worse outcomes than females, Klein wrote in an email.

South Korea presents a stark contrast to Italy. Rapid action by public health authorities, who have administered coronavirus tests at a higher rate than any other country in the world, has slowed the spread of the outbreak there. As of March 19, the country had 8,565 confirmed cases and 91 deaths. As a result, its current case fatality rate of 1.06% is far below the global average.

That low death rate is testament to the countrys aggressive coronavirus response; Korean hospitals were not overloaded, as they are in Italy, and life treatment centers were set up for patients with milder symptoms.

But it is also a function of who is getting sick, del Rio said. Whereas the typical coronavirus patient in Italy and elsewhere is male and in his 60s, women represent more than 60% of infections in South Korea, and nearly a third of the cases there have been people between the ages of 20 and 29.

What were beginning to see is that the disease presents in multiple ways and its pretty mild in people who are young, del Rio said.

Young women are overrepresented in South Koreas coronavirus patient figures because of the demographics in the fringe religious sect Shincheonji Church of Jesus, where the countrys biggest coronavirus cluster took place.

South Korea saw a sudden spike in virus cases after an infection cluster emerged at a local branch of the church mid-February. Later that month, South Korean health authorities launched a testing blitz on more than 200,000 members of the church across the country.

In a briefing earlier this month, the countrys center for disease control director Jung Eun-Kyeong said the number of young female patients is high because women in their 20s and 30s make up a big portion of Shincheonji church membership.

Experts say the mass testing of the church members possibly gave rise to detection bias in epidemiological statistics surrounding South Koreas coronavirus outbreak.

If you test all members of a church the likelihood of disease detection in that group naturally goes up, said Choi Jae-wook, professor of Preventative Medicine at Korea University in Seoul. The skewed representation of young patients from the church cluster helped make South Koreas case fatality rate so low, Choi said.

It may be that more young people are getting sick in Italy as well, but because their symptoms are mild and the country has not been testing aggressively, those cases are not being counted, del Rio said.

The age and gender discrepancies could offer important insights into how the coronavirus interacts with hosts immune systems, said Andrew Pekosz, a virologist at Johns Hopkins. Symptoms like high fever and a bad cough suggest the virus triggers an extreme inflammatory response, in which the body counters attacks with an army of defensive cells.

Sometimes it can be those cells that are driving the disease, Peskov said, causing more damage than they are controlling infection.

Understanding this response, particularly as it unfolds differently in different demographics, may help researchers develop treatments, he added.

But Harlan Krumholz, a professor of cardiology and outcomes research at Yale Medical School, cautioned that comparing countries is a tricky endeavor. We dont know numerators or denominators. The information is not comparable, he said.

He said that the best information was probably from South Korea, because it tested so many people. Everywhere else is biased, he said, depending on who is doing the testing, who is considered severe enough to be hospitalized and how you determine whether a death is related to the virus or not.

He worries that insufficient data is hampering doctors, scientists and public officials, making it more difficult to have a real-time understanding of the extent of the disease and the most effective ways to respond.

We should be able to do this, he said. This is revealing our great ignorance in the midst of an information age.

Kaplan and Mooney reported from Washington Andy Kim from Seoul. Steven Mufson in Washington contributed to this report.

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The coronavirus is killing far more men than women. But why? - Boston.com

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The massive panic-buying surge that stores and retailers saw across the nation has left store shelves looking like they were attacked by bears. Not all shelves are wiped clean though! There are plenty of areas of the store that are stocked up and ready to go. Wedid our share of internet sleuthing and have compiled a list of our favorite Tweets sharing what's still on the shelves.

The vegan selection seems to be going strong!

Weird hummus flavors ...

Gluten-free, anyone?

Some stores are getting creative!

Seriously, people, wash your hands!

This store, along with many others, is offering fresh baked goods with the new measure of individually wrapping everything.

Okay, people, lets not be gross.Please dont do this!

Our kind of store!

Naughty, naughty! This one is pretty funny.

Last, but not least, we can breathe a little easier knowing there is still CHOCOLATE!

Well, folks, there you have it! We may have to eat some weird tofu chocolate veggie sausage stir-fry for a while, but we can wash it down with some whiskey. Sadly, we still have no answer to the biggest shopping question right now When will there be more toilet paper?

What's the weirdest thing you have seen out there in the stores overthe last few days? Let us know in the comments, and again, if anyone knows where to get toilet paper, please let everyone in on your secret!

Excerpt from:
What's Still Left on the Shelves After All the Panic-Buying, According to People on Twitter - Our Community Now at Maryland

As the coronavirus becomes an ever-increasing discussion in our daily lives let us consider how Hampton in the past hunkered down to wait out the passing of epidemics and pandemics before the age of Wi-Fi, TV and social distancing and who was it who took care of the sick.

The doctors of Hampton played a key role in the community at all times but especially during a medical crisis; a broken bone, accident, mysterious death, pandemic outbreak, they would bring the needed comfort and confidence to those in distress.

Ill-equipped, with just his medical bag, no Spectra Shield Respirator mask from Foss Manufacturing, no Purell, special drugs, antibiotics, or even toilet paper (TP was invented in 1857 but was expensive so people preferred the Sears and Roebuck catalogue, a corn cob or a linen cloth), the doctor would enter the patients home to see if he could evaluate and help. He might have some Laudanum in his bag to ease the pain but not much more. At the end of the day, he would water his horse at the town pump on Exeter Road and perhaps finally wash his hands, minus soap and hot water, after a busy day. He would have probably visited with 50 patients in a day.

Dressed in a suit, tie and hat, Dr. Marvin Fisher Smith drove his buggy on the unpaved roads of Hampton to reach out to his patients. He came to Hampton in 1888 and died in 1916 before the Spanish flu pandemic hit Hampton and the world; but he would witness and administer to the Diphtheria epidemic of 1890-91 that closed schools, churches and meetings to contain the disease. He would come down with the disease himself but recover, later campaigning for vaccinations against disease. Through his efforts, Hampton preschools were inoculated as an annual ritual of preventative medicine.

In March of 1918, the Spanish flu pandemic hit the town of Hampton. Throughout the spring and summer cases of the flu were intermittent with no reported deaths but by Oct. 10, health officer Frank Long postponed all public meetings including schools, churches, and organizations with a large membership. There were a reported 200 people who became sick, many died in the town and beach. For most, the disease would last three days and deaths were usually from secondary infections like pneumonia. The well-liked pharmacist Victor G. Garland succumbed at 27 to the influenza after a heroic struggle, so too did Lottie Mace Reilly, George Storrow Ireland, and Mr. Warren M. Batchelder.

The Hampton Union reported that the epidemic of influenza seems to be under control. The ban on public meeting will be lifted on October 28, 1918.

At this time, Dr. E. Henry Thompson and Dr. Stanley M. Ward were the horse and buggy doctors of Hampton. There were two nurses hired by the town to assist the doctors during the flu pandemic.

As the flu pandemic raged in 1918, Hampton had a population of about 1250 people, the automobile was just beginning to share the roads with the horse and buggy, men and women were traveling around the country and to Italy and France to help with the war effort, and although the railroad did bring outsiders to the community there were not so many worldwide connections as there are today.

In Hampton 2020, the population is approximately 14,000. We are connected to the world and our borders are open, for the most part to all. We travel worldwide and love to meet in large numbers to cheer on our sports teams. We are a social body of people who like to shake hands and have close connections with each other.

A pandemic virus moves, silently and quickly. This one, coronavirus, targets the elderly and compromised. The Diphtheria epidemic and Spanish flu pandemic tended to attack the young but in the long run viruses do not discriminate.

In 1918, closures in the town lasted only a few weeks. A year later the town was celebrating the end of the war with large gatherings and parades to celebrate the end of WW1.

We too will weather this medical emergency as a community with the help of doctors, medicine, good decisions by our leaders and all of us doing our part.

We learn from the past that history does matter and although we are experiencing this trial under different circumstances from the pandemics and epidemics of the past, we as they were, are all in this together.

Take the time to evaluate for the future. Help others that are in need and be kind to each other.

If you wish to watch the video Hampton Voices from WW1 that documents a section about the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, visit http://www.hamptonhistoricalsociety.org to view the video on YouTube.

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We have been here before: A century before coronavirus, Hampton faced the Spanish flu - Seacoastonline.com

From actions to take to stop COVID-19 from spreading to the importance of flattening the curve, theres a lot to learn about infectious diseases these days.

As a health education company, Osmosis puts together videos and other learning content thats designed to be approachable. Alongside a platform designed for medical students and healthcare professionals, the company founded by former Johns Hopkins med school students has drawn an audience of more than 1.4 million subscribers for its widely available animated videos on YouTube.

So it makes sense that when COVID-19 began to spread, they created videos to explain the new disease. Its now become a package designed to provide public information, debunk myths and educate workers in healthcare.

Given that its a new virus and more is being learned all the time, Osmosis Chief Medical Officer Dr. Rishi Desaisaid the team took a distinct approach. Over the last three months, the team has been updating the videos with fresh knowledge, as well as adding new videos that provide education on general topics like how to clean surfaces, and clinic-specific instruction like how to wear N95 masks correctly.

Each of these updated videos carries with it key things you have to know, but we also try to address, What are the relevant things that people are hearing about right now in the news cycle? and add that squarely in the video, Desai said.

Theyre also putting out social media infographics to get at some of the more nuanced points of the crisis. For instance, they observed in Wuhan, China, that the actions taken to enforce social distancing didnt have an immediate effect on the number of rising cases. But results started to show two weeks later.

You can imagine someone with less resolve would say, OK, lets trying something else. For two long weeks they stuck with it and finally it started trailing off, Desai said.

It could be especially instructive for the U.S., where actions are being taken by governments even as cases are rising.

Weve seen this before. We know this is what happens, so lets share that through an infographic, he said.

It also means introducing new terms. Along with flattening the curve, Osmosis also has a video on how to raise the line, which goes over the importance of adding capacity in the healthcare system to treat an expected influx of patients through telemedicine and minimizing elective procedures.

In the realm of answering questions directly, Desai held Ask Me Anything sessions on YouTube that drew global inquiries.

A pediatric infectious disease physician who previously led Khan Academy Medicine, Desai was the fifth employee to join Osmosis. Previously, he worked as an epidemic intelligence officer at the Centers for Disease Control. In that role, he investigated outbreaks and how they spread by donning protective gear to seek out patients who had symptoms and tracing their contact history.

Given the past experience, Technical.ly asked about a prime public health message that folks should hear right now to help. He said the old adage, Dont just stand there, do something, is now turned on its head.

To stop the spread, now its Dont just do something, stand there, he said: The more people keep moving around, keep socializing or going to that one little gathering, it does put everyone at more and more risk.

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'Raise the line': Osmosis videos educate the public and medical community on COVID-19 - Technical.ly DC

Photo: Contributed

Forty-five per cent of Canadians regularly take health products, such as vitamins, minerals or herbal remedies.

With annual sales at an estimated $1.4 billion in Canada, I ask:

A recentUniversity of Toronto study looked into the evidence supporting the use of supplements, such as vitamins, minerals and fish oils. Specifically, the study looked at the effect on the risk of heart-related illness.

It foundthere was no significant effect from taking supplements.Supplements dont help to prevent cardiovascular disease, and they come at a cost.

I take a look at the main vitamins and nutrients, and how you can ensure youre getting enough without paying excessively for the benefits.

The government only recommends a few supplements, depending on age. Vitamin D is recommended for all Canadians, because most of us are deficient due to a lack of sun exposure.

Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, and is needed to keep bones, muscles and teeth healthy.

Being deficient in vitamin D can lead to rickets in children, which is a type of bone deformity. In adults, it can cause a condition called osteomalacia, which is a softening of the bones.

During summer, we should be able to get all the vitamin D we need from sunlight. However, as most Canadians are deficient in this vitamin, taking an oral supplement is a good idea.

Vitamin A and C are also recommended for children aged six months to five years old. Vitamin A helps your bodys natural defences, including keeping skin healthy, while vitamin C also helps maintain healthy skin, bone and blood vessels.

Eating a balanced diet full of fruit, vegetables and dairy (or alternatives fortified with vitamins), should ensure that you get all the vitamin A and C needed.

The recommendation to supplement childrens diets is due to the fact that more vitamin A and C are needed for growth and development.

Women trying for a baby, or in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, are recommended to take folic acid. This nutrient is important in the development of the brain and spinal cord in Fetuses.

Aside from pregnancy, there is no clinical need or benefit to taking folic acid, so it isnt recommended for anyone outside this category.

Other nutrients, such as calcium and iron, are also marketed by pharmaceutical companies as being essential to your health and well being.

While this is true calcium building strong bones, muscles and teeth, and iron essential for carrying oxygen around the body we should be reaching our daily targets if we eat a healthy, balanced diet.

Good sources of iron include meat, liver, beans, nuts, whole grains and green vegetables.

Women need more iron than men due to having periods and losing blood each month. Signs of iron deficiency anemia include feeling tired, out of breath or weak.

If you believe you may be deficient, go to your family doctor to get your blood levels checked.

Taking iron supplements without medical supervision isnt advised; iron can cause nasty side effects.

Calcium is also found in similar foods, as well as dairy products (or fortified alternatives). Taking too much calcium, in the form of supplements, can cause stomach pain and diarrhea, so again is not recommended without a physicians advice.

A few years ago, I challenged myself to eat the Daily Dozen a checklist of 12 types of food that you should incorporate into your diet each day.

I downloaded the app (Dr. Gregers Daily Dozen) and aimed to tick off all the food groups by the end of the day.

This is a great way of making sure youre getting all the right vitamins and nutrients to stay fit and healthy!

The list is as follows:

Download the app, or read of Dr. Gregers book, How Not to Die. Its a really informative read about how to use diet and exercise to prevent all the top causes of death.

Get in touch in the comments below, or via email, if you have any questions about supplements or how to reach your daily targets.

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Are supplements worth it? - Health and Happiness - Castanet.net

The European Commission president has said she hopes a vaccine for coronavirus could be ready before the autumn as the bloc puts aside bureaucratic obstacles and races with the US and other geopolitical rivals to tackle the crisis.

Ursula von der Leyen, a former medical doctor, has said a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, known as Covid-19, could be prepared much faster in the face of the global pandemic.

Health authorities have said, however, that it would take another 18 months before the preventative medicine could be put on the market.

The EU has offered CureVac, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Tubingen, Germany, 80 million euros to develop a new vaccine to create immunity against Covid-19. The company has said it could begin trails with humans as early as June.

I hope that with this support, we can have a vaccine on the market, perhaps before autumn, Ms Von der Leyen said.

"As we are in a severe crisis, we all see that we are able to speed up any of the processes that are slow normally and take a lot of time and are very bureaucratic," Ms Von der Leyen told reporters later on Tuesday.

Representatives for CureVac have said a vaccine could be ready in time if the German regulator allowed it to fast-track its product. Developing a shot before the autumn would allow nations the opportunity to stop a second seasonal wave of the virus in its tracks.

However, national heath advisors across Europe and the United States have regularly warned a vaccine could not be prepared before the end of 2020.

Curevac has found itself at the centre of a spat between Europe and the United States after reports emerged in the German press that a US official had offered to pay for the rights to the Covid-19 vaccine.

A White House official was reported to have offered large sums of cash for the vaccine on the provision that it was only for the USA.

The biotech company has subsequently had to deny reports that the administration of US President Donald Trump had tried to get hold of the vaccine.

"There was and there is no takeover offer from the White House or governmental authorities. Neither to the technology nor to CureVac at all as a company," CureVac acting CEO Franz-Werner Haas said on Tuesday.

However it has emerged that the US airforce flew 500,000 COVID-19 testing kits from Italy on a C-17 transporter to Tennessee on Monday as Washington uses its resources to fight the spread of the virus within its borders.

At the same time, specialist doctors and medical equipment have arrived in Italy ready to help tackle the sharp spike in people with the disease, which has overwhelmed medical facilities.

The doctors bring with them first-hand experience of dealing with the coronavirus, having previously helped to tackle the original outbreak in China's Hubei province that killed more than 3,000 people. Tough quarantine measures have seen the rate of new cases in China dwindle, while in Europe the outbreak continues to spread.

Updated: March 19, 2020 01:39 AM

Read more from the original source:
Coronavirus: EU head hopes for Covid-19 vaccine by autumn - The National

President Donald Trump said Thursday his administration willmake the malaria drug chloroquine available almost immediately to treat the COVID-19 infection, but it will only be available under the compassionate use program until the drug undergoes a clinical trial under the FDAs directive.

Studies are showing chloroquine can both prevent and treat coronavirus in the cells of primates, but it is not FDA-approved for COVID-19.

Some doctors report very encouragingresults quickly in very sick people, Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, told Breitbart News about research into chloroquine to treat the COVID-19 also known as SARS-CoV-2 respiratory illness.

Independent doctorsmay prescribe it off-label, but employed physicians might not be allowed to, by corporate administrators, because it is not FDA-approved for this indication, she added. No preventive or therapeutic meds are specifically approved for this.

As Breitbart Newss James Delingpole observed, a study document prepared by Dr. James Todaro and Attorney Gregory Rigano, in association with Stanford University School of Medicine and National Academy of Sciences Researchers, concluded:

Chloroquine can both prevent and treat malaria. Chloroquine can both prevent and treat coronavirus in primate cells (Figure 1 and Figure 2). According to South Korean and China human treatment guidelines, chloroquine is effective in treating COVID-19. Given chloroquines human safety profile and existence, it can be implemented today in the U.S., Europe and the rest of the world. Medical doctors may be reluctant to prescribe chloroquine to treat COVID-19 since it is not FDA approved for this use. The United States of America and other countries should immediately authorize and indemnify medical doctors for prescribing chloroquine to treat COVID-19. We must explore whether chloroquine can safely serve as a preventative measure prior to infection of COVID-19 to stop further spread of this highly contagious virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states:

Chloroquine is an antimalarial medicine available in the United States by prescription only Chloroquine can be prescribed for eitherprevention or treatmentof malaria. Chloroquine can be prescribed to adults and children of all ages. It can also be safely taken by pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Dr. Martin J. Vincent, et al, also wrote in 2005 in a study published at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) when severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was found to have been caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV:

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by a newly discovered coronavirus (SARS-CoV). No effective prophylactic or post-exposure therapy is currently available.

We report, however, that chloroquine has strong antiviral effects on SARS-CoV infection of primate cells. These inhibitory effects are observed when the cells are treated with the drug either before or after exposure to the virus, suggesting both prophylactic and therapeutic advantage. In addition to the well-known functions of chloroquine such as elevations of endosomal pH, the drug appears to interfere with terminal glycosylation of the cellular receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. This may negatively influence the virus-receptor binding and abrogate the infection, with further ramifications by the elevation of vesicular pH, resulting in the inhibition of infection and spread of SARS CoV at clinically admissible concentrations.

The researchers concluded that chloroquine is effective in preventing the spread of SARS CoV in cell culture.

Favorable inhibition of virus spread was observed when the cells were either treated with chloroquine prior to or after SARS CoV infection, they added.

The nice part is its been around for a long time, so we know that if things dont go as planned, its not going to kill anybody, Trump said at a press briefing.

Nevertheless, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, commissioner of food and drugs at the Food andDrug Administration (FDA), wrote at USA Today Tuesday:

While the Food and Drug Administration is working full speed, in collaboration with public and private sector partners, to help diagnose, treat and prevent this disease, presently there are no FDA-approved products to prevent, treat or cure COVID-19.

Orient said:

We need to get the FDA out of the practice of medicine. Also, it can shut down U.S. productionlines for exceeding production quotas or aminor paperwork violation, but has no meaningful inspection ofplants in China, on which we are dependent for 90% of our drug supply, including antibiotics and other things needed to care for critically ill patients.

Hopefully the Trump administration is working on bringing essential manufacturing home, she concluded.

Meanwhile, Orient recommends that those with a fever only treat it after consultation with a doctor:

Fever is not a disease. It is an important defense mechanism. Very high fevers (say 105 degrees) can cause brain damage, and children can have seizures. But dont pop Tylenol or ibuprofen at the first sign of fever. Many of the casualties in the 1918 pandemic might have been caused by heavy use of aspirin. Like aspirin, popular nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS), such as ibuprofen, also have detrimental effects on blood clotting. Try lukewarm sponge baths for comfort.

Orient recommends that Americans only go to an emergency room or urgent care facility if they are severely ill. She explained:

There will be sick people there, and you might catch something. You also might end up with a big bill, say for a CT scan you didnt really need. And if you have the flu or a cold or COVID-19, and dont need IV fluids or oxygen, they cant do anything for you.

At home, Orient advises families to clean and disinfect surfaces such as doorknobs, telephones, computer keyboards, toilets, and countertops often.

Virus can persist there for days, she says.

She also urges Americans to ensure they are getting the vitamins they need.

Most people may be vitamin D deficient, she explains. Your need for vitamin C escalates with infection. Some 50 tons of vitamin C was shipped to Wuhan, and studies of effectiveness are underway.

See the rest here:
FDA Urged to Approve Chloroquine to Treat COVID-19 - Breitbart

Update: Wednesday, March 18, 2020New controlled clinical study conducted by doctors in France shows that Hydroxychloroquine cures 100% of coronavirus patients within 6 days of treatment (covidtrial.io)

The coronavirus pandemic has so far claimed7,171 lives, with at least 182,603coronavirus cases reported and79,881 people recovered. Today, the NIH begins clinical trial of investigational vaccine for COVID-19. While the trial launched in record speed, public health officials have been stressing for weeks that a vaccine wont be ready for 12 to 18 months in the best circumstances.

However, there is good news today that an existing anti-viral medication may be effective at treating the COVID-19. According to anew academic studypresented by Thomas R. Broker, (Stanford PhD), James M. Todaro (Columbia MD), and Gregory J. Rigano, Esq., in consultation with Stanford University School of Medicine, UAB School of Medicine, and National Academy of Sciences researchers, shows that over the counter anti-malaria pills Chloroquine may be highly effective at treating coronavirus COVID-19.

In a research work published on Friday, recent guidelines from South Korea and China report that chloroquine is an effective antiviral therapeutic treatment against Coronavirus Disease 2019. Use of chloroquine (tablets) is showing favorable outcomes in humans infected with Coronavirus including faster time to recovery and shorter hospital stay. US CDC research shows that chloroquine also has strong potential as a prophylactic (preventative) measure against coronavirus in the lab, while we wait for a vaccine to be developed. Chloroquine is an inexpensive, globally available drug that has been in widespread human use since 1945 against malaria, autoimmune and various other conditions, the authors said.

According to research by the US CDC, chloroquine has strong antiviral effects on SARS coronavirus, both prophylactically and therapeutically. SARS coronavirus has significant similarities to COVID-19. Specifically, the CDC research was completed in primate cells using chloroquines well known function of elevating endosomal pH. The results show that We have identified chloroquine as an effective antiviral agent for SARS-CoV in cell culture conditions, as evidenced by its inhibitory effect when the drug was added prior to infection or after the initiation and establishment of infection. The fact that chloroquine exerts an antiviral effect during pre- and post-infection conditions suggest that it is likely to have both prophylactic and therapeutic advantages.

Background

The U.S. CDC and World Health Organization have not published treatment measures against Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Medical centers are starting to have issues with traditional protocols. Treatments, and ideally a preventative measure, are needed. South Korea and China have had significantly more exposure and time to analyze diagnostic, treatment and preventative options. The U.S., Europe and the rest of the world can learn from their experience. According to former FDA commissioner, board member of Pfizer and Illumina, Scott Gotlieb MD, the world can learn the most about COVID-19 by paying closest attention to the response of countries that have had significant exposure to COVID-19 before the U.S. and Europe.[1]

As per the U.S. CDC, Chloroquine (also known as chloroquine phosphate) is an antimalarial medicine Chloroquine is available in the United States by prescription only Chloroquine can be prescribed for either prevention or treatment of malaria. Chloroquine can be prescribed to adults and children of all ages. It can also be safely taken by pregnant women and nursing mothers.[2]

CDC research also shows that chloroquine can affect virus infection in many ways, and the antiviral effect depends in part on the extent to which the virus utilizes endosomes for entry. Chloroquine has been widely used to treat human diseases, such as malaria, amoebiosis, HIV, and autoimmune diseases, without significant detrimental side effects.[3]

The treatment guidelines of both South Korea and China against COVID-19 are generally consistent, outlining chloroquine as an effective treatment.

Specifically, according to the Korea Biomedical Review, in February 2020 in South Korea, the COVID-19 Central Clinical Task Force, composed of physicians and experts treating patients agreed upon treatment principles for patients with COVID-19.[4] In China, the General Office of the National Health Commission, General Office of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as a Multi-Center Collaborative Group of Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology and Guangdong Provincial Health Comp and the China National Center for Biotechnology Development have established effective treatment measures based on human studies.[5]

Data from the drugs [chloroquine] studies showed certain curative effect with fairly good efficacy patients treated with chloroquine demonstrated a better drop in fever, improvement of lung CT images, and required a shorter time to recover compared to parallel groups. The percentage of patients with negative viral nucleic acid tests was also higher with the anti-malarial drug Chloroquine has so far shown no obvious serious adverse reactions in more than 100 participants in the trials Chloroquine was selected after several screening rounds of thousands of existing drugs. Chloroquine is undergoing further trials in more than ten hospitals in Beijing, Guangdong province and Hunnan province.[6]

According to the Korea Biomedical Review, the South Korean COVID-19 Central Clinical Task Force guidelines are as follows:

1. If patients are young, healthy, and have mild symptoms without underlying conditions, doctors can observe them without antiviral treatment;

2. If more than 10 days have passed since the onset of the illness and the symptoms are mild, physicians do not have to start an antiviral medication;

3. However, if patients are old or have underlying conditions with serious symptoms, physicians should consider an antiviral treatment. If they decide to use the antiviral therapy, they should start the administration as soon as possible:

chloroquine 500mg orally per day.

4. As chloroquine is not available in Korea, doctors could consider hydroxychloroquine 400mg orally per day (Hydroxychloroquine is an analog of chloroquine used against malaria, autoimmune disorders, etc. It is widely available as well).

5. The treatment is suitable for 7 10 days, which can be shortened or extended depending on clinical progress.

Notably, the guidelines mention other antivirals as further lines of defense, including anti-HIV drugs.

According to Chinas Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Diagnosis and Treatment Plan, 7th Edition, the treatment guidelines are as follows:

1. Treatment for mild cases includes bed rest, supportive treatments, and maintenance of caloric intake. Pay attention to fluid and electrolyte balance and maintain homeostasis. Closely monitor the patients vitals and oxygen saturation.

2. As indicated by clinical presentations, monitor the hematology panel, routine urinalysis, CRP, biochemistry (liver enzymes, cardiac enzymes, kidney function), coagulation, arterial blood gas analysis, chest radiography, and so on. Cytokines can be tested, if possible.

3. Administer effective oxygenation measures promptly, including nasal catheter, oxygen mask, and high flow nasal cannula. If conditions allow, a hydrogen-oxygen gas mix (H2/O2: 66.6%/33.3%) may be used for breathing.

4. Antiviral therapies:

chloroquine phosphate (adult 18-65 years old weighing more than 50kg: 500mg twice daily for 7 days; bodyweight less than 50kg: 500mg twice daily for day 1 and 2, 500mg once daily for day 3 through 7)

Additionally, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology and the Guangdong Provincial Health and Health Commission issued a report stating Expert consensus on chloroquine phosphate for new coronavirus pneumonia: clinical research results show that chloroquine improves the success rate of treatment and shortens the length of patients hospital stay.[9] The report further goes on to cite research from the US CDC from 2005 as well as research from the University of Leuven University in Belgium regarding chloroquines effectiveness against SARS coronavirus at the cellular level.[10]

Like the South Korean guidelines, notably, other antivirals (e.g. anti-HIV drugs) are listed as further lines of defense. The most research thus far has been around chloroquine.

Chloroquine as a prophylactic (preventative) measure against COVID-19[11]

According to research by the US CDC, chloroquine has strong antiviral effects on SARS coronavirus, both prophylactically and therapeutically. SARS coronavirus has significant similarities to COVID-19. Specifically, the CDC research was completed in primate cells using chloroquines well known function of elevating endosomal pH. The results show that We have identified chloroquine as an effective antiviral agent for SARS-CoV in cell culture conditions, as evidenced by its inhibitory effect when the drug was added prior to infection or after the initiation and establishment of infection. The fact that chloroquine exerts an antiviral effect during pre- and post-infection conditions suggest that it is likely to have both prophylactic and therapeutic advantages.

In conclusion, the study shows that chloroquine is effective in preventing SARS-CoV infection in cell culture if the drug is added to the cells 24 h prior to infection.

You can read the rest of the report here.

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New academic study reveals over-the-counter anti-malaria med Chloroquine may be highly effective at treating coronavirus - TechStartups.com

By AGGREY MUTAMBOMore by this Author

Authorities in South Korea have rued the missed chance they had in arresting the surge of coronavirus cases in their country, when they let a suspected patient walk back to her community.

By Tuesday this week, South Koreas Centres for Disease Control had reported 8,320 cases of Covid-19, 81 deaths and 1,401 fully recovered patients.

Though Seoul reported its first case of Covid-19 on January 20, officials say it shouldnt have spread this way.

It all began on February 18, when a woman only identified as Patient 31 checked into a South Korean hospital displaying symptoms associated with the new coronavirus. But the woman reportedly refused to take a Covid-19 test even after her doctor advised it.

It turned out she was a member of the Shincheonji, Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (SCJ), a highly secretive sect in South Korea and which the Korean CDC says two thirds of the Covid-19 cases in the country are associated with.The woman, 61, came from Daegu, a city in South Korea with about 2.5 million people, where the church has a significant following.

South Korean officials say the woman initially refused to take the test as she feared it could lead to her revealing her church members. She also insisted that she had not travelled overseas and had not contacted an infected person. The woman would later be forced back to the hospital after her condition became worse. But she had infected many more of her church members.The Church, began in 1984 by leader Lee Man-hee, who is seen as the only interpreter of the Book of Revelations, follows some secretive practices including keeping their membership to themselves. The Korean CDC, however, found the church had a branch in Wuhan in China, where the virus was first reported, and some members had travelled from there recently.

Inside South Korea, their members prayed close to each other, operated in secrecy, and accessed the church using a finger-print reading system. And as each member placed a finger on the same surface, it is possible the virus spread among members, before spreading to nearby communities. All this time, Korean authorities were legally barred from interfering with freedom of worship. Three days after Patient 31 showed up in hospital, South Koreas cases reached 346, becoming the biggest incidences reported outside China then.Korean officials last week reported more recoveries than infections. The country largely depended on lessons learnt from the missed opportunity, according to a report by the local CDC.The Churchs officials put out a statement denying they hindered preventive measures.

Controlling and preventing infectious diseases is a serious matter which is directly related to the health of people and may cause social anxiety from concerns of infection. The church is assisting in thorough investigation and diagnosis following the instructions of the health department, the Church says on a statement on its website.Whether their practices hindered prevention or not, reflects how deep religious beliefs and misinformation about medical facts may hinder combating the virus.

In east Africa, where coronavirus cases have risen, experts warned misinformation or dangerous beliefs could be just as harmful.

In Kenya, for example, authorities have in the past used force to implement some medical programmes like polio immunisation, especially in communities that follow stringent religious beliefs against medication. Others choose to believe their deities rather than advice from medical experts.

It appears to be in our nature to consistently appeal to supernatural forces whenever faced with a serious threat instead of taking practical measures to deal with emergent threats, Sunday Nation columnist Lukoye Atwoli, an associate professor of psychiatry at Moi University School of Medicine, said in his column.When it comes to public health, it is important to understand the science behind a problem in order to be able to control it.

In Korea, authorities began a programme where motorists can drive through a centre, give samples and be contacted later in case they test positive. That has helped reduce the rates of infections.

An analysis by the Poynter Institute last week found a series of misinformation concerning religion and races, where false purveyors claimed some religions can be good shields against Covid-19.

Religion is not a way to protect yourself against the new disease, the Institute observed.

These beliefs can keep infected people away from real treatment, and those who are at risk of contamination far from preventative measures, promoting real harm.Last year, the World Health Organisation had to appeal to Facebook to flag false information about vaccines, after the global health body was met with rising advocates against immunisation.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, Vaccine misinformation is a major threat to global health that could reverse decades of progress made in tackling preventable diseases.

Many debilitating and deadly diseases can be effectively prevented by vaccines. Think measles, diphtheria, hepatitis, polio, cholera, yellow fever, influenzaCovid-19 doesnt have a vaccine yet, but Dr Tedros admitted recently that misinformation about the virus was still a challenge.

In East Africa though, officials have also been pushed to advise against cash to prevent potential spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Someone like a tout who collects cash all the time should put on disposable gloves, said Dr Diana Atwine, Ugandas Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, in a series of public awareness tweets on Monday.

Money has been proven to be a great source of infections, she said.

In Nairobi, President Uhuru Kenyatta called on vendors to facilitated use of non-cash payments. But all the East African countries use public transport systems where service providers largely accept cash payments.

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Lessons from South Korea on Covid-19 preventive measures - The East African

A public service announcement about coronavirus prevention is displayed on an electronic traffic message board as an ambulance travels northbound on Chicagos Dan Ryan Expressway, Thursday, March 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A public service announcement about coronavirus prevention is displayed on an electronic traffic message board as an ambulance travels northbound on Chicagos Dan Ryan Expressway, Thursday, March 19, 2020.

A public service announcement about coronavirus prevention is displayed on an electronic traffic message board as an ambulance travels northbound on Chicagos Dan Ryan Expressway, Thursday, March 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A public service announcement about coronavirus prevention is displayed on an electronic traffic message board as an ambulance travels northbound on Chicagos Dan Ryan Expressway, Thursday, March 19, 2020.

Deaths climb to 4 in Illinois, Pritzker says grocery stores, interstates will never shut down

SPRINGFIELD As Gov. JB Pritzker announced three more COVID-19-related deaths and 134 new confirmed cases Thursday, he also expressly asserted that interstate highways, gas stations, grocery stores and other essential services will not close as a response to the pandemic.

I want to address some of the rumors that have been running around, Pritzker said. Essential services will not close. Interstates, highways and bridges will stay open. Grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations these sources of fundamental supplies will continue to operate.

There is no need to run out and hoard food, gas or medicine, he said. Buy what you need, within reason. There is enough to go around as long as people do not hoard. We will never shut these services down.

The governor made that statement at his daily COVID-19 briefing in Chicago, where he also announced the three deaths, a Will County resident in his 50s, a Cook County resident in her 80s and an out-of-state resident in her 70s who was in Sangamon County bringing the states confirmed death count to four.

He also announced temporary tax relief for some bar and restaurant owners and cautioned that a shutdown of schools could last longer than a March 31 scheduled reopen date.

I also think that parents should be contemplating the possibility that that might be extended, he said of the scheduled March 31 return date.

Pritzker also said the state is evaluating every day as to whether a shelter-in-place order might be necessary, as, he said, experts are advising, this is going to take longer than people have expected.

Pritzker said the effort is largely aimed at staying ahead of countries like Italy, where there are more than 40,000 confirmed cases and more than 3,400 deaths. Social distancing, or staying home, remains the most important preventative measure.

So when I make decisions about this, this is about how do we operate faster and better than Italy and other countries that have seen this grow exponentially for a very long period of time, he said, noting that lack of testing means an increased reliance on mathematicians extrapolating available data over the entire population.

And Im gonna continue to listen to the experts to do the right thing, that the triggers are really in what the experts are seeing, he said.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered Thursday that any city resident confirmed as having or showing symptoms of COVID-19 must stay home or risk a citation. The suburban village of Oak Park issued a shelter-in-place order which starts Friday, but it allowed for several exemptions, including obtaining essential services such as grocery shopping or medical care.

Pritzker also said the number of confirmed cases now at 422 will continue to grow as testing ramps up. According to the Illinois Department of Public Healths new website, coronavirus.illinois.gov, a total of 3,151 people had been tested in the state as of Thursday.

The states capacity for testing has increased from about 200 people per day to more than 1,000 on Wednesday, Pritzker said, adding it will be two-plus thousand in the next few days.

But, he said, the expected increase in coronavirus cases is also due to the virus spread, not just the increase in testing. He said the virus can also be spread by people who have it but have not been tested or have not shown symptoms.

So we know this is growing substantially. And until there are more and more tests, we will be in this situation of just seeing the numbers rise because the testing is rising, Pritzker said. We hope that there will be a cresting. In some countries in Asia, theres been a cresting because theyve implemented some of the measures that we have implemented here. Weve done it earlier here, but that doesnt mean that were not going to see a lot of cases of COVID-19, and frankly more deaths.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, IDPH director, said expansion of private testing labs will allow the agency to continue to target its testing at the most vulnerable populations, such as nursing home patients and the staff that care for them.

Pritzker said he called up members of the National Guard to help set up drive-thru testing sites among other logistical and transportation efforts.

The Guard is also doing critical work planning for the weeks and months ahead, including expanding our health care capacity by potentially refitting and reopening previously closed hospitals, he said.

In terms of concrete action in response to the virus Thursday, Pritzker signed another executive order relaxing insurance rules for telemedicine, which allows patients to see a doctor remotely, such as through a video call.

For Medicaid plans and those regulated by the Illinois Department of Insurance, the executive order calls for providers to be reimbursed at the same rate at which they are reimbursed for in-person visits, among other regulatory changes.

This order will allow more providers to get reimbursed for these services and allow patients more flexibility and safety in getting the medical guidance and care that they need, he said.

Pritzker said his staff also worked with grocery stores and retail industry advocates to implement senior shopping hours.

In economic action, Pritzker said he directed the Department of Revenue to defer sales tax payments for small- and medium-sized bars and restaurants that paid less than $75,000 in sales tax last year. Those businesses will not be charged late payment penalties or interest on payments due in March, April or May.

He also announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved the states eligibility in all 102 counties for disaster assistance loans up to $2 million for small businesses facing financial hardship.

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Deaths climb to 4 in Illinois, Pritzker says grocery stores, interstates will never shut down - Alton Telegraph

1. Firearm use and related crime rates, deaths and injuries have increased disproportionately in the United States compared to other high-income countries over the last decade.

2. Firearm related violence is associated with significant financial, psychosocial and physical harm to communities.

3. Individual and community-level preventative efforts around firearm-related violence and a greater awareness of related implications of firearm use are warranted in the United States and globally.

Study Rundown: Firearm usage, crime rates, related deaths and injuries have significantly increased in the United States over the last decade. Compared to other high income countries, firearm-related death rates were over 11-fold higher in the United States compared to 28 other high-income countries in 2015, with disproportionately higher rates of firearm deaths, firearm homicides, public mass shootings, and both civilian and police deaths in encounters. Firearm suicide rates were higher in rural settings, among men and older adults, and among White communities compared to Black communities. In comparison, firearm homicide victimization rate were higher in urban settings, among Black communities compared to White communities, among men, and ages 20 to 24 years.

While data on firearm related fatalities is generally reliable, data on non-fatal shootings through the Centers for Disease Control is less reliable in the United States. Similarly, crime-related gun use estimates are likely underestimated.

Apart from death and injuries, firearms and exposure to violence also contribute towards other problems and related costs. These include an increased risk of psychiatric (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and others), emotional (e.g. withdrawal, anger, nervousness and despair), behavioral (e.g. substance abuse, violence, poor academic performance, promiscuous behavior) and health complications (e.g. asthma, heart disease and others). Community-level costs related to firearm injuries and deaths through Medicaid, insurance premiums and uncompensated debt, as well as those related to criminal law enforcement and downstream consequences of high crime communities may be considered. National medical costs of initial hospitalizations for firearm injury have been estimated close to $750 million per year, and do not account for significant hospital-related expenditures and high re-admission rates with related complications.

This review identifies the United States as an outlier in terms of firearm related morbidity and mortality, and related financial, psychosocial and health related sequelae for victims, perpetrators and communities. The findings call for individual and community-level preventative efforts around firearm related violence and a greater awareness of their related implications in the United States and globally.

Click to read the study in Current Trauma Reports

Relevant reading: Global Mortality From Firearms: 1960-2016

Image: PD

20202 Minute Medicine, Inc. All rights reserved. No works may be reproduced without expressed written consent from2 Minute Medicine, Inc. Inquire about licensinghere. No article should be construed as medical advice and is not intended as such by the authors or by 2 Minute Medicine, Inc.

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Morbidity and mortality associated with gun violence in the United States - 2 Minute Medicine

Many fishermen come to believe that they have a natural immunity to infections, but the reality is quite the contrary. Infections have shut down fishing operations across the world, which is why its essential to both understand infection types that cause symptoms as well as what sort of preventative measures can be taken to avoid them entirely. preventions in todays world.

As a baseline for this topic, the definition of an infection is the invasion of an organisms body tissue (man or beast) by disease-causing agents. An agent can be bacteria, viruses, fungus and parasites. Infections can be transmitted in a variety of ways.

Exactly how an infection can spread as well as its effect on the human body depends on the type of infective agent. Some infectious diseases can be passed from one person to another easily while others are harder to transmit. The flu, a cold, measles or a sore throat may be transmitted by a kiss or a simple touch or cough from one person to another. Infectious diseases such as AIDS, herpes and hepatitis are only passed by a closer contact called bloodborne transmission as blood to blood or sexual intercourse.

Some examples of how infections are transmissible, communicable of contagious are:

There are many different root causes of these infections, all of which need to be fully understood in order to determine the best approach for prevention and treatment.

Bacteria Infection

Most of the Earths biomass is made of bacteria, which are single-celled micro-organisms. Bacteria can live in almost any kind of environment which ranges from extreme heat to intense cold. Some can even survive in radioactive waste. Bacteria are also highly adaptable. That can cause problems for people because it often results in resistance to antibiotics.

There are trillions of strains of bacteria and a few of these may cause diseases in humans. Some bacteria are beneficial to human digestion and airways. However, there are also plenty of good bacteria like the digestive bacteria contained in our stomachs.

Some examples of bacteria diseases are:

Bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics but some strains become resistant and can survive treatment. Antibiotics resistant bacterial infections and or diseases have been an ever-increasing which has become a major a concern to infectious diseases specialists and the CDC (Center for Disease Control).

Viral infections

Viral infections are as numerous and as deadly as bacterial diseases. Viral infections can range from the common cold to Ebola. Unlike bacteria, viruses are made up of only a genetic code that is encapsulated in a shell made up of protein and fat.

Viruses invade a host and attach to the hosts cell. By this process of attachment and release of genetics (commanding seed matter), the virus rapidly replicates and kills the host cells only to go on to infect new cells and repeats the cycle. Since the virus is only genetic material, it may remain dormant and reactivate when conditions demand so.

Some examples of viral infections are:

Antiviral medications can help in some cases as they can either prevent the virus from reproducing or boost the bodys immune system response. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses but most treatments are directed to relieve symptoms while the immune system combats the virus without assistance from drugs and treatments.

Fungal infections

A fungus is a many-celled parasite that can reproduce by spreading spores. Many fungal infections will appear on the topical skin as a persistent rash. Inhaled fungal spores can cause thrush and candidiasis.

Examples of fungal infections are:

Since commercial fishermen work in such harsh environments, the demands of the bodys protective immune system are much greater. A healthy active lifestyle can help keep the immune system strong and able to defend the body against different kinds of infections. Fishermen can stop the spread of communicable diseases with some simple common sense procedures that can be followed on their vessels and onshore.

There is no single way to prevent all infectious diseases. However, the following tips can reduce the risk of transmission:

Given how much they are handling gear and fish, the majority of commercial fishermens on-the-job infections are infections of the fingers and hands. Thats why its especially important to understand what it means to understand these types of infections.

Treating and preventing infections of the fingers and hands

Fish and fish products are often contaminated with infectious bacteria, which explains why fishermen are so prone to infections via the involuntary penetration into soft tissue by fish spines and bones. Bacteria can be easily carried into these open wounds by fish slime, fish intestinal parts and contaminated vessel components. Additionally, the handling of ropes, cables and moving metal parts in the unpredictable environment of the sea adds to the likelihood of bloody injuries that are centered on the hands.

Prevention is always better than treatment. All finger and hand infections are very painful and disabling. Some infections can cause permanent disability, possibly ending a fishermans career. Infections in the hands should always be treated aggressively within the following guidelines:

Knives and fishhooks

Injuries caused by a fishermans working tools such as knives and fishhooks should be treated aggressively and immediately. These instruments can directly inject harmful bacteria deep in the soft tissue.

In order to remove a fishhook with the minimum tissue damage, follow this simple procedure:

The ability to give and receive proper medical attention while at sea is extremely limited. Thats why your medical skills and the supplies you have on hand can make all the difference. Preventing injuries is always the most cost-effective action plan, but that underscores why its essential to get proper training, be prepared, but most importantly, always think safety first.

For additional information concerning the best medical kit for your vessel visit marinemedical.com or email your request to info@marinemedical.com.You can also reach us by calling 800-272-3008.

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Marine medicine: Understanding and treating infection types - National Fisherman

For the first time in its 68-year history, the Legal Aid Society of Mid New York Inc. has a director of development and communication. Alex Simon started as the new head of fundraising and comes to Legal Aid after a nearly 10-year career in which he has served in fundraising and communication roles at colleges and universities across upstate New York.

Simon has been a part of fundraising teams at Cazenovia College, Union College, SUNY Polytechnic and the Masonic Medical Research Institute that achieved record-breaking support. In these roles, Simon has worked with business and community partners to fund research programs, pushed for unrestricted capital and established endowments for deserving students.

Simon works out of the Utica office at 120 Bleecker St.

IN OTHER BUSINESS NEWS:

NBT Bank has been recognized with six awards in the 2019 Greenwich Excellence Awards in Small Business Banking and Middle Market Banking. In the U.S. Middle Market Banking category, more than 600 banks were evaluated for excellence with 33 recognized with distinctive quality. NBT earned the following three designations: Cash Management Overall Satisfaction (Northeast), Likelihood to Recommend (Northeast) and Overall Satisfaction (Northeast). In the U.S. Small Business Banking category, more than 600 banks were evaluated for excellence with 36 recognized for distinctive quality. NBT earned the following three designations: Overall Satisfaction, Likelihood to Recommend (Northeast) and Overall Satisfaction (Northeast). The awards are based on interviews with more than 13,000 middle-market businesses with sales of $10 to 500 million and more than 14,000 small businesses with sales of $1 to 10 million across the country.

Michael Tucciarone, a chiropractor, along with his wife, Mary, have announced their retirement. Tucciarone has had offices in Utica, Herkimer, Hamilton and most recently in Clinton. Kelsey Roberts is taking over the day-to-day operations of the practice. Roberts is a graduate of Le Moyne College and New York Chiropractic College. She has a doctorate in chiropractic and a masters in clinical nutrition. Roberts will administer and treat patients in the Clinton area. For information or concerns about future treatment, contact the office at 315-853-6225.

The Genesis Group along with The Medical Societies and its partners will host the 15th annual Healthcare Recognition at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, at Hart's Hill Inn, 135 Clinton St., Whitesboro. The recognition honors area health care professionals who have demonstrated excellence in the workplace and in the community. Nominations are being accepted. Deadline for submission is Friday, April 3. For information and nomination form, email info@TheGenesisGroup.org.

Taylor Arcuri Unser is practicing cardiovascular and preventative medicine with Fred Talarico, MD, and Pat Rosati, ANP, at 2115 Genesee St., Utica, and is accepting new patients. Unser recently earned a masters degree as a nurse practitioner from SUNY Polytechnic. Prior to her recent graduation, she was employed at Mohawk Valley Health System as a registered nurse at the St. Elizabeth Medical Center caring for internal medicine and acute cardiac patients.

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Legal Aid Society hires director of development and communication - The Times Telegram

MILAN/SEOUL In Italy, millions are locked down and more than 1,000 people have died from the coronavirus. In South Korea, hit by the disease at about the same time, only a few thousand are quarantined and 67 people have died. As the virus courses through the world, the story of two outbreaks illustrates a coming problem for countries now grappling with an explosion in cases.

Its impractical to test every potential patient, but unless the authorities can find a way to see how widespread infection is, their best answer is lockdown.

Italy started out testing widely, then narrowed the focus so that now, the authorities dont have to process hundreds of thousands of tests. But theres a trade-off: They cant see whats coming and are trying to curb the movements of the countrys entire population of 60 million people to contain the disease. Even Pope Francis, who has a cold and delivered his Sunday blessing over the internet from inside the Vatican, said he felt caged in the library.

Thousands of miles away in South Korea, authorities have a different response to a similar-sized outbreak. They are testing hundreds of thousands of people for infections and tracking potential carriers like detectives, using cell phone and satellite technology.

Both countries saw their first cases of the disease called COVID-19 in late January. South Korea has since reported 67 deaths out of nearly 8,000 confirmed cases, after testing more than 222,000 people. In contrast, Italy has had 1,016 deaths and identified more than 15,000 cases after carrying out more than 73,000 tests on an unspecified number of people.

Epidemiologists say it is not possible to compare the numbers directly. But some say the dramatically different outcomes point to an important insight: Aggressive and sustained testing is a powerful tool for fighting the virus.

Jeremy Konyndyk, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, said extensive testing can give countries a better picture of the extent of an outbreak. When testing in a country is limited, he said, the authorities have to take bolder actions to limit movement of people.

Im uncomfortable with enforced lockdown-type movement restrictions, he said. China did that, but China is able to do that. China has a population that will comply with that.

The democracies of Italy and South Korea are useful case studies for countries such as America, which have had problems setting up testing systems and are weeks behind on the infection curve. So far, in Japan and the United States particularly, the full scale of the problem is not yet visible.

Germany has not experienced significant testing constraints, but Chancellor Angela Merkel warned her people on Wednesday that since 60% to 70% of the populace is likely to be infected, the only option is containment.

South Korea, which has a slightly smaller population than Italy at about 50 million people, has around 29,000 people in self-quarantine. It has imposed lockdowns on some facilities and at least one apartment complex hit hardest by outbreaks. But so far no entire regions have been cut off.

Seoul says it is building on lessons learned from an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in 2015 and working to make as much information available as possible to the public. It has embarked on a massive testing program, including people who have very mild illness, or perhaps dont even have symptoms, but who may be able to infect others.

This includes enforcing a law that grants the government wide authority to access data: CCTV footage, GPS tracking data from phones and cars, credit card transactions, immigration entry information, and other personal details of people confirmed to have an infectious disease. The authorities can then make some of this public, so anyone who may have been exposed can get themselves or their friends and family members tested.

In addition to helping work out who to test, South Koreas data-driven system helps hospitals manage their pipeline of cases. People found positive are placed in self-quarantine and monitored remotely through a smartphone app, or checked regularly in telephone calls, until a hospital bed becomes available. When a bed is available, an ambulance picks the person up and takes the patient to a hospital with air-sealed isolation rooms. All of this, including hospitalization, is free of charge.

South Koreas response is not perfect. While more than 209,000 people have tested negative there, results are still pending on about 18,000 others an information gap that means there are likely more cases in the pipeline.

The rate of newly confirmed cases has dropped since a peak in mid-February, but the systems greatest test may still be ahead as authorities try to track and contain new clusters. South Korea does not have enough protective masks it has started rationing them and it is trying to hire more trained staff to process tests and map cases.

And the approach comes at the cost of some privacy. South Koreas system is an intrusive mandatory measure that depends on people surrendering what, for many in Europe and America, would be a fundamental right of privacy. Unlike China and the island-state of Singapore, which have used similar methods, South Korea is a large democracy with a population that is quick to protest policies it does not like.

Disclosing information about patients always comes with privacy infringement issues, said Choi Jaewook, a preventive medicine professor at Korea University and a senior official at the Korean Medical Association. Disclosures should be strictly limited to patients movements, and it shouldnt be about their age, their sex, or their employers.

Traditional responses such as locking down affected areas and isolating patients can be only modestly effective, and may cause problems in open societies, says South Koreas Deputy Minister for Health and Welfare Kim Gang-lip. In South Koreas experience, he told reporters on Monday, lockdowns mean people participate less in tracing contacts they may have had. Such an approach, he said, is close-minded, coercive, and inflexible.

Italy at the limit

Italy and South Korea are more than 5,000 miles apart, but there are several similarities when it comes to coronavirus. Both countries main outbreaks were initially clustered in smaller cities or towns, rather than in a major metropolis, which meant the disease quickly threatened local health services. And both involved doctors who decided to ignore testing guidelines.

Italys epidemic kicked off last month. A local man with flu symptoms was diagnosed after he had told medical staff he had not been to China and discharged himself, said Massimo Lombardo, head of local hospital services in Lodi.

The diagnosis was only made after the 38-year-old, whose name has only been given as Mattia, returned to the hospital. Testing guidelines at the time said it was not necessary to test people who had no link to China or other affected areas. But an anesthetist pushed the protocols and decided to go ahead and test for COVID-19 anyway, Lombardo said. Now, some experts in Italy believe Mattia may have been infected through Germany, rather than China.

Decisions about testing hinge partly on what can be done with people who test positive, at a time when the healthcare system is already under stress. In Italy at first, regional authorities tested widely and counted all positive results in the published total, even if people did not have symptoms.

Then, a few days after the patient known as Mattia was found to have COVID-19, Italy changed tack, only testing and announcing cases of people with symptoms. The authorities said this was the most effective use of resources: The risk of contagion seemed lower from patients with no symptoms, and limited tests help produce reliable results more quickly. The approach carried risks: People with no symptoms still can be infected and spread the virus.

On the other hand, the more you test the more you find, so testing in large numbers can put hospital systems under strain, said Massimo Antonelli, director of intensive care at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS in Rome. Testing involves elaborate medical processes and follow-up. The problem is actively searching for cases, he said. It means simply the numbers are big.

Italy has a generally efficient health system, according to international studies. Its universal healthcare receives funding below the European Union average but is comparable with South Koreas, at 8.9% of GDP against 7.3% in South Korea, according to the World Health Organization.

Now, that system has been knocked off balance. Staff are being brought into accident and emergency departments, holidays have been canceled and doctors say they are delaying non-urgent operations to free up intensive care beds.

Pier Luigi Viale, head of the infectious disease unit at Sant Orsola-Malpighi hospital in Bologna, is working around the clock in three jobs. His hospital is handling multiple coronavirus cases. His doctors are shuttling to other hospitals and clinics in the area to lend their expertise and help out with cases. In addition, his doctors also have to deal with patients with other contagious diseases who are struggling to survive.

If it drags on for weeks or months well need more reinforcements, he told Reuters.

Last week, the mayor of Castiglione dAdda, a town of about 5,000 people in Lombardys red zone which was the first to be locked down, made an urgent online appeal for help. He said his small town had had to close its hospital and was left with one doctor to treat more than 100 coronavirus patients. Three of the towns four doctors were sick or in self quarantine.

Doctors and nurses are at the limit, said a nurse from the hospital where Mattia was taken in. If you have to manage people under artificial respiration you have to be watching them constantly, you cant look after the new cases that come in.

Studies so far suggest that every positive case of coronavirus can infect two other people, so local authorities in Lombardy have warned that the regions hospitals face a serious crisis if the spread continues not just for COVID-19 patients but also for others whose treatment has been delayed or disrupted. As the crisis spreads into Italys less prosperous south, the problems will be magnified.

Intensive care facilities face the most intense pressure. They require specialist staff and expensive equipment and are not set up for mass epidemics. In total, Italy has around 5,000 intensive care beds. In the winter months, some of these are already occupied by patients with respiratory problems. Lombardy and Veneto have just over 1,800 intensive care beds between public and private systems, only some of which can be set aside for COVID-19 patients.

The government has asked regional authorities to increase the number of intensive care places by 50% and to double the number of beds for respiratory and contagious diseases, while reorganizing staff rosters to ensure adequate staffing. Some 5,000 respirators have been acquired for intensive care stations, the first of which are due to arrive on Friday, deputy Economy Minister Laura Castelli said.

The region has already asked nursing institutes to allow students to bring forward their graduation to get more nurses into the system early. Pools of intensive care specialists and anesthetists are to be set up, including staff from outside the worst affected regions.

To add to the burden, hospitals in Italy depend on medical personnel to try to trace the contacts that people who test positive have had with others. One doctor in Bologna, who asked not to be named, said he had spent a 12-hour day tracing people who had been in contact with just one positive patient, to ensure those who next need testing are found.

You can do that if the number of cases remains two to three, the doctor said. But if they grow, something has to give. The system will implode if we continue to test everyone actively and then have to do all this.

Maximum power

In South Korea as in Italy, an early case of COVID-19 was identified when a medical officer followed their intuition, rather than the official guidelines, on testing.

The countrys first case was a 35-year-old Chinese woman who tested positive on Jan. 20. But the largest outbreak was detected after the 31st patient, a 61-year-old woman from South Koreas southeastern city of Daegu, was diagnosed on Feb. 18.

Like the patient named Mattia in Italy, the woman had no known links to Wuhan, the Chinese province where the disease was first identified. And as in Italy, the doctors decision to recommend a test went against guidelines at the time to test people who had been to China or been in contact with a confirmed case, said Korea Medical Associations Choi Jaewook.

Patient 31, as she became known, was a member of a secretive church which Deputy Minister for Health and Welfare Kim Gang-lip said has since linked to 61% of cases. Infections spread beyond the congregation after the funeral of a relative of the churchs founder was held at a nearby hospital, and there were several other smaller clusters around the country.

Once the church cluster was identified, South Korea opened around 50 drive-through testing facilities around the country. In empty parking lots, medical staff in protective clothing lean into cars to check their passengers for fever or breathing difficulties, and if needed, collect samples. The process usually takes about 10 minutes, and people usually receive the results in a text reminding them to wash their hands regularly and wear face masks.

A total of 117 institutions in South Korea have equipment to conduct the tests, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The numbers fluctuate daily, but an average of 12,000 is possible, and maximum capacity is 20,000 tests a day. The government pays for tests of people with symptoms, if referred by a doctor. Otherwise, people who want to be tested can pay up to 170,000 won ($140), said an official at a company called Seegene Inc, which supplies 80% of the countrys kits and says it can test 96 samples at once.

There are also 130 quarantine officers like Kim Jeong-hwan, who focus on minute details to track potential patients. The 28-year-old public health doctor spends his whole working days remotely checking up on people who have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Kim, who is doing military service, is one of a small army of quarantine officers who track the movements of any potential carriers of the disease by phone, app or the signals sent by cell phones or the black boxes in automobiles. Their goal: To trace all the contacts people may have had, so they too can be tested.

I havent seen anyone telling bad lies, Kim said. But lots of people generally dont remember exactly what they did.

Underlining their determination, quarantine officers told Reuters they located five cases after a worker in a small town caught the virus and went to work in a coin karaoke, a bar where a machine lets people sing a few songs for a dollar. At first, the woman, who was showing symptoms, did not tell the officers where she worked, local officials told Reuters. But they put the puzzle together after questioning her acquaintances and obtaining GPS locations on her mobile device.

Now, quarantine officers have maximum power and authority, said Kim Jun-geun, an official at Changnyeong County who collects information from quarantine officers.

South Koreas government also uses location data to customize mass messages sent to cellphones, notifying every resident when and where a nearby case is confirmed.

Lee Hee-young, a preventative medicine expert who is also running the coronavirus response team in South Koreas Gyeonggi province, said South Korea has gone some of the way after MERS to increase its infrastructure to respond to infectious diseases. But she said only 30% of the changes the country needs have happened. For instance, she said, maintaining a trained workforce and up-to-date infrastructure at smaller hospitals isnt easy.

Until we fix this, Lee said, explosions like this can keep blowing up anywhere.

The rest is here:
Italy and South Korea virus outbreaks reveal disparity in deaths and tactics - The Union Leader

Coronavirus has officially been declared a pandemic and every time you look at news about current events you see another set of numbers, each higher than the last, telling how many people are infected or have tested positive. Amidst the warnings from actual health officials and the brush-off from politicians, you'll also find more and more companies have closed offices down and have employees working from home.

Coronavirus and tech: Ongoing list of event cancellations, disruptions, product delays, and more

All the big names have already done it: Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Twitter off the top of my head. And doing it was the smart call from both a company liability standpoint as well as a way to look out for the welfare of employees.

Cornavirus is passed from person to person so limited exposure is the best preventative medicine.

Avoiding any setting where a large group of people is near each other is smart right now, but for tech companies, it's even smarter so many employees are flying all over the world visiting other offices and that means the chances of those folks contracting the virus is much higher because of basic math. Get close to more people, the chances you'll come in contact with someone who has the virus and doesn't know it yet gets higher.

It sounds like an easy idea to grasp, but I'm also seeing a good many people saying that closing offices and schools, telling people to avoid large crowds, or even self-isolating if you think you've been in contact with the virus is a silly panic manufactured by the media. It's not, and the people saying this are either ill-informed and have bad intentions.

Google has well over 120,000 employees spread out among 70 offices in 50 countries. The odds are that a significant portion of them will eventually come in contact with the coronavirus is fairly high. And that is enough reason why employees need to work from home. Add in the fact that many Google employees have travel as part of their job and those odds get higher.

The employee flying home with the virus can infect almost anyone at their office, who can then infect almost anyone else there.

If someone were to fly from Mountain View to South Korea, for example, where the population per square mile is extremely high they stand a higher chance coming in contact with the virus. If they then fly home, they could infect the people they share an office with, the people staffing the cafeteria, and the people providing security. Those people then could spread the virus if they were to catch it, eventually spreading it outside of the Google campus to children, the elderly, and other at-risk persons.

Best Cheap Office Desk for Working From Home

That's how a pandemic works. Numbers increase exponentially with one infected person creating many new infected people. The idea that one person can infect only one other person doesn't work, and since this is a virus that transmits without any exchange of bodily fluids or a particular type of contact, the odds of transmitting it to someone else before you even know you're infected are rather high.

If a chicken has a contagious infection, you euthanize the whole flock. That doesn't work with people.

People aren't livestock. If we find an infected individual amongst the flock, we can't just euthanize everyone to prevent the spread. And by the time a person realizes they are infected, the number of other people they have eaten lunch with, or shook hands with, or patted on the back, or rode the subway with is almost too big to count. That's why closing your child's school or your office or even canceling NBA games makes sense.

And if you're a big tech company that has employees jumping between offices on six different continents, it makes even more sense. It's not creating panic or even contributing to media hysteria it's being proactive and smart.

Maximize your productivity: 7 working from home hacks to get more done

Read more from the original source:
The fine line between panic and preparedness: Keeping tech workers at home is the right call - Android Central

As we navigate the unknown and the attendant stress, fears, and challenges of the global Covid-19 coronavirus crisis, it can be difficult to stay relaxed, function normally, and tend to life as usual. Taking preventative measures is important and the medical and media communities are providing guidance. Along with my colleague, Ed Harrold, we offer you added prevention strategies that are paramount to your physical and mental health, both now and on an ongoing basis, enhancing your immune system function to keep you healthy and strong: Proper breathing and sufficient sleep. We are here to offer some tips to help you navigate these times, hoping that our recommendations become inscribed in your way of living for a healthy and happy life.

BREATHING:How & Why

From Ed Harrold, Author, Educator, Consultant

Lets start with your breathing. At a timewhen you may be feeling a bit nervous about inhaling for fear of what you maybe inhaling, here are some simple tools and strategies, to remain calm,strengthen your immune system and reduce the risk of unhealthy invadersentering your body.

I begin by explaining why breathing throughyour nose and not your mouth is key. When we inhale oxygen through our nose, wehave a built-in protective system that filters the air of toxins andbacteria. Our nostrils are lined withtiny hairs called cilia that protect our body from roughly 20 billion foreigninvaders per day. Yes, 20 billion per day! They are quite busy keeping ourlungs clear of air borne bacteria and viruses like Covid-19.

The second benefit of nasal diaphragmaticbreathing is the production of nitric oxide.Nitric oxide combats harmful bacteria and viruses in our bodies andboosts the immune system; among other things. The filtering benefits from thecilia and the release of Nitric Oxide ONLY happen with nasal DiaphragmaticBreathing; not mouth breathing.

If these two things werent enough, the key toreducing anxiety and stress during challenging times is controlling the length,depth, and pace of our nasal breath.Breathing rates and patterns signal our brain to behave in the stressresponse or the relaxation response.When we breathe at a rate of 12 breaths or more per minute, we signalthe stress response. When we breathe ata rate of 10 breaths or less per minute, we signal the relaxation response.

When your mind is becoming agitated, fearfuland nervous, an easy tool to access to calm yourself is your breath. Irecommend diaphragmatically breathing with anocean sound from at a pace of 10 breaths or less per minute. The Ocean Sounding breath is agreat compliment to the Diaphragmatic breath as it helps introvert the mind,reduces inflammation and helps you improve your breathing rate and pattern.

Apply breath as medicine in yourself- care routines to remain vibrant and healthy. For more instruction, pleasesee: Life WithBreath.

SLEEP:Preventive Medicine for Optimal Health & Living

From Nancy H. Rothstein, MBA, The Sleep Ambassador

Sleep is essential for life. Period. Yet, millions of peoplestruggle to get the sleep quality and quantity they need. In stressful timessuch as these, adding concerns and fears to our already demanding lives canresult in compromised sleep. However, as research confirms, insufficient sleepplaces us at heightened risks for illnesses such as the common cold and theflu, both of which are forms of corona virus. Recognizing this newest coronavirus, Covid-19, and the unknowns about its contagious properties and when/whereit may arise, its all the more important to keep your immune system hard atwork to keep you well should you be exposed to the Covid-19, or any virus orillness for that matter.

Here are a few tips from sleep expert Nancy H. Rothstein, The Sleep Ambassador, to helpyou navigate your nights with good, restorative sleep.

Staying healthy in times such as these, both physically and mentally, can be challenging for many people. Proper breathing and sufficient sleep can help you maintain your well-being, support your immune system, and mitigate the impact of stress and risk of becoming sick.

Prevention through proper breathing and good sleep may be just the medicine you need to navigate the waves of the unknown. That said, if you are experiencing breathing challenges or suspect you are at risk for a sleep disorder, please seek medical attention for assessment and treatment.

The rest is here:
Breathing & Sleeping Your Way Through the Covid-19 Crisis - Thrive Global

The main uncertainty in the coronavirus outbreak in the United States now is how big it will get, and how fast. The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Nancy Messonnier told reporters on March 9, many people in the US will at some point, either this year or next, get exposed to this virus.

According to infectious disease epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch at Harvard, its plausible that 20 to 60 percent of adults will be infected with Covid-19 disease. So far, 80 percent of cases globally have been mild, but if the case fatality rate is around 1 percent (which several experts say it may be), a scenario is possible of tens or hundreds of thousands of deaths in the US alone.

Yet the speed at which the outbreak plays out matters hugely for its consequences. What epidemiologists fear most is the health care system becoming overwhelmed by a sudden explosion of illness that requires more people to be hospitalized than it can handle. In that scenario, more people will die because there wont be enough hospital beds or ventilators to keep them alive.

A disastrous inundation of hospitals can likely be averted with protective measures were now seeing more of closing schools, canceling mass gatherings, working from home, self-quarantine, self-isolation, avoiding crowds to keep the virus from spreading fast.

Epidemiologists call this strategy of preventing a huge spike in cases flattening the curve, and it looks like this:

Even if you dont reduce total cases, slowing down the rate of an epidemic can be critical, wrote Carl Bergstrom, a biologist at the University of Washington in a Twitter thread praising the graphic, which was first created by the CDC, adapted by consultant Drew Harris, and popularized by the Economist. The chart has since gone viral with the help of the hashtag #FlattenTheCurve.

Flattening the curve means that all the social distancing measures now being deployed in places like Italy and South Korea, and on a smaller scale in places like Seattle and Santa Clara County, California, arent so much about preventing illness but rather slowing down the rate at which people get sick.

The CDC advises that people over age 60 and people with chronic medical conditions the two groups considered most vulnerable to severe pneumonia from Covid-19 to avoid crowds as much as possible.

If more of us do that, we will slow the spread of the disease, Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist and hospital epidemiologist at the University of Chicago Medicine, told Vox. That means my mom and your mom will have a hospital bed if they need it.

So even if youre young and healthy, its your job to follow social distancing measures to avoid spreading it to others, and keep the epidemic in slow motion. The more young and healthy people are sick at the same time, the more old people will be sick, and the more pressure there will be on the health care system, Landon explained.

Hospitals filled with Covid-19 patients wont just strain to care for those patients doctors may also have to prioritize them over others. Right now theres always a doctor available when you need one, but that may not be the case if were not careful, Landon said.

At this point, with the virus spreading in America, the top priority is making sure the health care system avoids being flooded with very sick patients who need ventilators and intensive care.

From a US standpoint, you want to prevent any place from becoming the next Wuhan, said Tom Frieden, who led the CDC under President Barack Obama. What that means is even if were not able to prevent widespread transmission, we want to prevent explosive transmission and anything that overwhelms the health care system.

Remember, Americas hospitals and doctors are already dealing with their usual caseloads during a pretty bad flu season. Now they have to be ready to handle any Covid-19 patients who come their way.

There are serious concerns about the US systems capacity to handle a severe outbreak. Covid-19 is a respiratory illness and in its most serious stages can require patients with pneumonia to be put on a ventilator. But there might not be enough ventilators to meet that need if the outbreak becomes too widespread.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security reported in 2018 that, according to US government estimates, about 65,000 people in the United States would require ventilation in an outbreak similar to the flu pandemics of 1957-1958 (which killed 116,000 people in the US) and 1968 (which killed 100,000 Americans).

The maximum number of ventilators that could be put in the field in the United States is about 160,000. So under those scenarios, there would theoretically be enough capacity to meet the need.

But if the coronavirus outbreak gets worse, we could quickly run out. In a situation more similar to the Spanish flu pandemic (675,000 dead in the US), about 742,500 people in the United States would require ventilation, according to government estimates. We dont have that many.

The health system is much more than ventilators, of course, and the concerns about capacity apply to the rest of it, too. As HuffPosts Jonathan Cohn reported, US hospitals have about 45,000 beds in their intensive care units. In a moderate outbreak, about 200,000 patients may need to be put in the ICU, but under a more severe outbreak, it could be nearly 3 million.

And while all 3 million of them would likely not need treatment at the same time, we again need to account for the ICU patients hospitals already had before coronavirus arrived, as Cohn noted:

On the one hand, those are total numbers, for the duration of the epidemic. Even under the most dire scenario, its unlikely that 2.9 million people would need ICU beds all at once. On the other hand, ICU beds in the U.S. are already pretty full, thanks to the normal crush of patients with influenza and other major medical problems.

As a result, hospitals are routinely at capacity, forcing backups of patients boarding in emergency departments for hours or even days, waiting on the beds there until inpatient slots become available. And thats before any influx from COVID-19.

Hospitals are already doing what they can rationing surgical masks, preparing to stand up temporary facilities, etc. and they will take more extreme measures if they cant handle all the people with Covid-19 plus their more routine patients.

But one thing people can do to help is stay home if they are feeling unwell and especially if they received a formal Covid-19 diagnosis and advice to self-isolate. That way, the US health care system can focus on the patients who really need it during this outbreak.

Go here to read the rest:
Coronavirus chart: School closings and quarantines save lives by flattening the curve - Vox.com

Getty Images/iStock photo

As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise around the country, maternity hospitals are cracking down on visitors to protect the health of mothers and theirbabies as well as considering early discharge post-delivery, in line with new national advice.

On Saturday,The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) issued new guidelines,which acknowledged the risk posed to the community, health workers, all patients and pregnant patients due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

How will this affect you?

As well as reducing, postponingand/or increasingthe interval between antenatal visits and limiting routine antenatal visits to less than 15 minutes, RANZCOG also recommended closing access to hospital and maternity units to visitors (excludingpartners).

While there is some variationbetween hospitals, and you will need to check with your own, most have now issued updated visitor requirements.

In an Instagram post, The Mater Private Hospital in North Sydney told patientsthat while partners are welcome, other family members and friends are not permitted to visit.Maternity Tours have also been cancelled.

Meanwhile, the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne has advised patients to "keepvisitor numbers to a minimum" and discourage siblings and other children from visiting. "We remind the community that visitors should not come to the Women's if they are unwell," they note.

While most parents and parents-to-be aresupportive of the move, some have admitted to feeling "heartbroken" and concernedabout the logistics.

"I completely understand this,I really do," one mum wrote on Instagram. "However, I'm due in eightweeks and will be having a c-section and therefore staying for fivenights. Will be heartbreaking to not to be able to see my eldest child for that amount of time. Or for him to be able to meet his sibling for that amount of time. It will also result in my husband not being able to spend time at the hospital due to caring for him at home ... "

New South Wales mum Hayley is currently five days overdue with her fourth child and tells Essential Baby that she's torn about the ban, but also understands that it's warranted. "We'd love people to come and support us and welcome the baby but obviously a bit wary of germs," she says. She's also prepared for a quick discharge from hospital. "I left four hours after birth with my other babies and that'll be the plan this time," Hayley says.

Dr Nicole Highet, Founder and Executive Director of the Centre ofPerinatalExcellence (COPE) tells Essential Baby:"It's understandableto be anxious at the moment and disappointed about not having visitors however it's always better to be safe, and prevention is always the best approach when it comes to public health issues such as this.

"Try to think about way that you can still connect with friends and family through for exampleFaceTimeorSkypefrom Hospital," she says. "Whileit is never going to be quite the same as having a hold of bub, remember, there are many days and years ahead for cuddles, as this too shall pass."

Newborn baby tests positive for COVID-19

The move comes as a newborn baby in London testedpositive for thecoronaviusminutes afterbeing born. The baby's mother had been admitted to hospital suffering frompneumonia but only testedpositive for COVID-19 after givingbirth,reportsThe Sun,who say the baby is the "world's youngest victim".

But questions remain around how the newborncontracted the illness.

"We can't say it happened while the baby was still in the womb," Dr. WilliamSchaffner, a professor of Preventive Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, toldLive Science. "The baby could have also contracted the virus during, or immediately after, birth."

What we currentlyknow about the impact on babies and pregnant women:

The news remains comforting for babies and pregnant women.

A recent study of19 pregnant women infected with COVID-19, which was published in The Lancetfound no evidence of mum to baby transmission.

In addition, research published inJAMAon February 14 looked at cases ofcoronavirusin infants under the age of one in China. Nine babies were infected betweenDecember 8, 2019, and February 6, 2020.The youngest was justonemonth old and the oldest was 11 months. All babies were hospitalised. One baby had no symptoms but tested positive for the illness. None of the infantsbecame seriously unwell.

RANZCOG advisesthe followingpreventative measures for pregnant women:

Pregnant women are also advised to avoid all non-essential overseas travel and to report early symptoms to theirmidwife,obstetrician or GP.

Tele-health now available:

The government recently announced thatTelehealth(consultations with doctors via phone)will be bulk-billed forpregnant women and those with newborns.

What else can parents do?

In an article for The Conversation,Karleen GribbleAdjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University andNina Jane ChadResearch Fellow, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney suggest parents of babies prepare for COVID-19 by taking the following steps:

What about breastfeeding?

According to the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) women can continue to breast feed even if unwell.

"Breastfeeding helps protect babies from a variety of illnesses," the ABA notes. "This is because breast milk contains antibodies and other immune protective factors. If you have been diagnosed with or are suspected of having COVID-19, care should be taken to avoid spreading the virus to your baby while you continue to breastfeed."

If you notice a drop in supply (which can happen during illness) you can contact aAustralian Breastfeeding Association counsellorfor support, see alactation consultantor a medical advisor.

As the COVID-19 pandemic is an evolving issue, for more resources and up to date information, visit:

RANZCOG

Centre of PerinatalExcellence (COPE)

PANDA Helpline:1300 726 306

Australian Breastfeeding Association

Continue reading here:
Coronavirus crackdown: only partners allowed to visit maternity wards - Essential Baby

The coronavirus of 2019 has infected more than 155,000 people and claimed more than 5,000 lives. Some countries have closed their borders and discriminatory practices of xenophobia have swarmed their way into classrooms, the workplace, media and other institutions.

Hysteria, fear and anxiety have become the hallmarks of this growing epidemic since the first cases were reported in Wuhan, China. Exact incubation periods, profile of symptomatology and whether or not this is truly the first time coronavirus has been around are still in question. The anxiety surrounding this disease is even hampering the vitality of domestic and global economies. Last week, stocks tumbled for 7 consecutive days, with one of the sharpest declines occurring after President Trump gave a news conference earlier last week.

However, this writing wont be a political debate. It wont determine the fitness of Vice President Mike Pence to lead this national health emergencybut rather, will give needed attention to a public health and ethical concern.

Americans and other people around the world have been following the growing list of CDC guidelines. Weve been washing our hands for 20 seconds (approximate length of the Happy Birthday song sung twice), obeying travel restrictions, self-quarantining at the start of flu-like symptoms. Although these measures have potentially slowed the spread of the virus, an instrument to cease its transmission is needed. A vaccine would be the answer. Problem solved? Not quite.

On one hand, its estimated that a coronavirus vaccine may not be market-ready for approximately 1-2 years. On the other hand, according to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, the Trump administration cant promise that a vaccine will be affordable to all. Panicked and vulnerable Americans may not be able to get a preventative treatment to ensure their protection. A promising formula hasnt even made its way into a syringe yet, but somehow, has already been assigned an expensive price tag. Why so prematurely?

Market exclusivity appears to be a main culprit behind high drug prices in the U.S. As the coronavirus vaccine is in development, the first drug company to reach success in developing a vaccine will be granted a patent by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), essentially ensuring several years of protected monopoly status and profit given it meets FDA qualifications. The presence of generic vaccines wont be a reality for several years, which is one of the most useful tactics in driving prices down.

Newsflash.America has seen this before. We have seen our best minds, resources and capital funneled towards public health crises. However, when the prized breakthrough is achieved, the less fortunate are the last in line to reap its benefits. For example, in 2013, the more effective drugs Solvaldi and Olysio were added to the market for treatment and cure of Hepatitis C, a viral infection that can cause liver damage and cancer.

A study in the Journal of Health & Biomedical Law highlighted the challenges patients face in getting these promising drugs within our complex healthcare system. Specifically, just one pill of Sovaldi costs approximately $1,000, which brings the total cost of the 12-week treatment to $84,000, according to the study. While patients with private insurance showed higher rates of denied authorization, even patients with Medicare and Medicaid faced strict restrictions when trying to access these drugs. Some need access to a primary care doctor, a hepatologist or to show proof that they do not use alcohol. This is a difficult laundry list for people to accomplish, particularly those who are a part of the lower economic class, with limited access to routine care or specialists who accept Medicaid.

What should be established as a low hanging and accessible fruit has been selfishly turned into a high-hanging potential source of disparity. I would argue that a medical practice or development fueled by a profitable end falls short of providing equitable access to healthcare. The practice of medicine exists for the expedient and efficient treatment of all, not the few with hefty pockets.

Although the warnings of HHS Secretary Azar and health care leaders may appear to simply be rhetoric at the moment, health disparities are not. Marginalized members of society will predictably carry the heaviest burden of this disease. Notably, Duke Health has been reported as the largest employer in Durham county, employing over 19,000 within its healthcare system. It can therefore be deduced that it is one of the largest contributors to not only the economy of Durham county, but the health of its residents. In light of its mission to deliver a healthier tomorrow, DukeHealth should not only investigate the epidemiology of this disease, but the access (or lack thereof) that residents may have to upcoming technologies and medical advances.

Whether private investors are called upon to make this vaccine a reality, which significantly drives up the cost, or not, the federal government should have the health and pockets of all in mind. To our public leaders and advisors, such as those with the federal Centers for Disease Control who are working on the front lines of this emerging pandemic: We, the people, are doing our part with adherence to guidelines that have been established to prevent transmission of COVID-19. We are hopeful that a vaccine would be economically accessible to everyone at risk. In the meantime, the subsidizing of coronavirus diagnostic tests and related treatment for non or underinsured people remains a reasonable public health response. Should the latter become a reality, our government can begin to match what has been its potential for centuries. Enabling the latter will begin to lessen the burdens of human finitude and show us what equitable human flourishing truly looks like.

Kirsten Simmons is a third-year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine. She is also completing a Masters of Health Science in Clinical Research and a Masters of Theological Studies at Duke University Divinity School as a Theology Medicine and Culture Fellow.

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Link:
A coronavirus vaccine is in the making But you may have to check your pockets first - Duke Chronicle

By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In a bid to check the spread of novel coronavirus in the national capital, the state government-run Nehru Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital in Defence Colony has come up with an isolation ward with a capacity of 30 beds.

According to the hospital administration, the decision was taken following a meeting with the Union Health and Welfare Ministry where hospitals were asked to prepare isolatedbeds to tackle the disease if more suspected cases arise.

"Here, only the suspected cases of coronavirus are to be taken. If found positive, the patients will be transferred to nodal hospitals," said Dr Neeraj Gupta. The hospital further stated that the initial preparations have been undertaken to handle any emergency situations and more beds will be added to the facility soon.

"Right now, masks and other preventative equipment are in the process of procurement. Since this is a homeopathic hospital, we also follow the guidelines of the Ayush Ministry which has come up with selected medicines that are to be taken as preventive measures against coronavirus. The medicines are provided for free at the hospital," Gupta added.

The outdoor patient department and 100-bed indoor hospital attached to the teaching institute is providing curative, preventive and promotive homoeopathic healthcare services along with providing basic testing facilities.

Tested positive

One man who returned from Italy on March 11 and was at the Armys quarantine facility in Manesar has tested positive. He was employed in a restaurant in Italy for last 14 years.

Read more from the original source:
Delhi government-run homeopathic hospital adds isolation beds for suspected coronavirus cases - The New Indian Express