Islamabad:Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) is very much concerned over the outbreak of corona virus in China particularly in Wuhan (Hubei, province).
A PMA release here Wednesday said due to the fatal virus death toll in China rose to six and the number of cases jumped to almost 300. Health authorities in China earlier said there was no obvious evidence of person-to-person transmission and animals were suspected to be the source of transmission of the virus but now fears of a bigger outbreak rose after a prominent expert from China’s National Health Commission confirmed that the virus can be transmitted between people.
W.H.O has warned about the eruption of the more cases both in China and other countries. People of China are now a days preparing to celebrate Lunar New Year which starts from coming Friday and they are very much distress about the rapid transmitting of the virus from one person to another.
The people are also distressed of corona virus because of its genetic similarities to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 650 people across China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
The corona virus is a serious disease like SARS and causes upper respiratory tract infection. The important point to be noted that if the symptoms of the infection are not treated properly this can lead to lower respiratory tract infection, laryngitis, bronchitis, lungs infection and finally pneumonia, which could become fatal for the patients.
There is big number of Pakistani students and businessmen along with so many Chinese coming to Pakistan every day, so we are more at risk of getting corona virus through human contact. PMA strongly suggests the government to install thermal scanners at our International Airports to scan the passengers arriving from high risk countries particularly from China, Bangkok and Thailand. If anybody is found with signs of fever should be quarantined for 24 hours for monitoring. God forbid if it hits Pakistan then it will be more difficult to control it because there is no treatment for the fatal virus. Prevention is the only way to keep us safe from the outbreak of this virus in Pakistan. So, all the required preventive measures should be adopted urgently. Australia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Singapore and the United States have set up enhanced screening measures at their airports for the prevention of corona virus, the release concludes.
In this scenario PMA reiterates its demand to establish virology labs at least at all provincial capitals so that viral diseases like Swine Flu, Dengue, Bird Flu, Chikungunya, Zika virus Congo virus, corona virus and other viruses can be diagnosed promptly.