COVID-19 Pandemic: Do not panic, but use extreme caution

SARS-CoV2 is a novel coronavirus identified as the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that began in Wuhan, China in late 2019 and spread worldwide.

There are several known coronaviruses that infect only animals. Seven coronaviruses cause disease in humans also. Four of them cause symptoms of the common cold most frequently. Three of them cause much more severe, and sometimes fatal, respiratory infections in humans, and have caused major outbreaks of deadly pneumonia in the 21st century: MERS-CoV (2012), SARS-CoV (2002) and SARS-CoV2 (2019).

We are learning more about SARS-CoV2 everyday as Scientists all over the world are collaboratively studying this virus at rapid speed. In the past few months, we have learned what it is and how to detect it. The research is speeding up to find cures and vaccines. None of them will be available for at least a year or so.

There is absolutely no reason to panic. 80% cases are mild. The main symptoms are fever and dry cough. Most of the infected individuals will be cured on their own. Less than 20% people may develop shortness of breath needing medical attention. In less than 5% cases, intensive care may be needed. The initial estimates of fatality based on the data from China is 2.3%, but less than SARS (10%) or MERS (35%). However, COVID-19 virus appears to be more infectious and is easily spreading worldwide. That is the reason why we need to be extremely cautious.

The risk of someone getting seriously ill is about 5-10% if infected by COVID-19 virus. The risk of death is around 1-5% with a higher rate in elderly and immunocompromised individuals. It should also be noted that everyone in Wuhan province (the epicenter) did not get infected. Only about 17% (619 of the 3,700) of the passengers and crew members on the Diamond Princess cruise ship were infected during the COVID-19 outbreak in February. It is highly likely that some of the younger folks and individuals with strong immunity will not get the infection. Therefore, an individual’s real risk of getting serious illness is much lower than 5-10%. There is no reason to panic.

Why extreme caution, then? 

If we do not follow the state Department of Health guidelines and go about our day to day life as before, infections will multiply exponentially causing serious illness to 0.1% of the population. That is 70,000 people in the state of Massachusetts, needing emergency and intensive care in addition to regular emergency room traffic. You know how long people normally wait in an emergency room. If you suddenly add 70,000 people in the line, imagine how much longer it will take to get any medical help. Further, acutely serious COVID-19 patients will need ICU care with special equipment (like ventilators) which are in short supply. Our health care system is totally under-prepared for dealing with such a high number of seriously ill patients. Therefore, we have to do everything possible to slow down the rate of infection. 

The most effective means of slowing down the infection is “social distancing” because infection is spreading by person-to-person (and person-surface) contact via large respiratory droplets.

If you think you have been exposed to COVID‑19 and develop a fever and symptoms, such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your healthcare provider for medical advice. Do not rush to your doctor’s office or emergency room if you have mild symptoms only. It is absolutely necessary that you stay away from others.

Even if you do not have the symptoms, you must practice social distancing to keep yourself and others safe from infection. Do not go to hospital to get yourself tested. You would be putting yourself at greater risk of getting sick by going to a healthcare facility with other COVID-19 positive patients.

“Social distancing” and “washing hands frequently” are the two powerful tools we have to slow down infection to make ourselves safe. Also, avoid touching your face with your hands. Do not use up face masks and other personal protective equipment unnecessarily. Leave them for healthcare professionals who need them to protect themselves while treating the patients.

Stay home. Stay safe.

మానవాళికి మేలుచేసినమేధావి - తొంభై సంవత్సరాల క్రితం బోస్టన్ వచ్చిన తెలుగుతేజం  -  డా. ఎల్లాప్రగడసుబ్బారావు

రచన: డా. భీశెట్టి గోవింద రావు

       బోస్టన్ లో ముప్పై నలభై  సంవత్సరాల క్రితం వచ్చిన తెలుగువారిని మనం కలుస్తూవుంటాం. కాని అంతకన్నా ముందు వచ్చిన వారి గురించి మనకు అంతగా తెలియదు. తెలుసుకొనే మార్గాలు కూడా లేవు. ఇక్కడ తెలుగు సంఘం స్థాపించి 27 సంవత్సరాలు మాత్రమే అయింది. అలాంటప్పుడు ఎనభై - తొంభై సంవత్సరాలకి ముందువచ్చినవారి గురించి తెలుసు కోవడంకష్టం కదా! అప్పట్లో వచ్చిన వారు చాలా తక్కువ మంది. అయితే 1922 లో భీమవరం నుండి బోస్టన్ కు వచ్చిన ఒక మేధావి  హార్వర్డ్ యునివర్సిటీలో చేసిన పరిశోధనలు, వాటి ఫలితాలు, జీవరసాయన శాస్త్ర  పత్రికలలో అచ్చుకావడంతో, మనకు వీరి   గురించి తెలుసుకొనే ఆధారాలుదొరికాయి. బోస్టన్ లో చాలామంది తెలుగు వారికి, ముఖ్యంగా కొత్తగా వచ్చిన వారికి వీరి గురించి తెలియదు.  "You've probably never heard of Dr. Yellapragada Subba Rao. Yet because he lived you may be alive and are well today. Because he lived you may live longer." - Doron K. Antrim observed in the April 1950 issue of Argosy. 

  

      సుబ్బారావుగారు భీమవరంలో జనవరి 12, 1895న  జన్మించారు. చిన్నతనంలోనే వీరికి చాలాకష్టాలు ఎదురయ్యాయి. అయినా పట్టుదలతో చదువుకొని, మద్రాస్ మెడికల్ కాలేజీలోప్రవేశాన్ని సంపాదించుకొన్నారు. గాంధీ గారి బాటలో ఖద్దరు తొడుగుకొని క్లాసులకు వెళ్ళినందున ఒక  బ్రిటిష్ ప్రొఫెసర్ ఆగ్రహానికి గురయ్యారు. అందువలన అనాటమిలో తక్కువ మార్కులు ఇచ్చి, MBBS డిగ్రీ  ఇవ్వకుండా, LMS డిప్లొమా ఇచ్చి పంపారు. అయినా నిరాశ పొందకుండా , మద్రాస్ లో ఉన్న ఆయుర్వేద కళాశాలలో ఉపాధ్యాయుడుగా చేరి ఆయుర్వేద౦లో రీసర్చి చేయడం మొదలు పెట్టారు.ఆసమయంలో ఒక అమెరికన్ డాక్టర్ తో పరిచయం అయింది. అతని ప్రోత్సాహంతోబోస్టన్ లో హార్వర్డ్   మెడికల్ కాలేజీకి రావాలని నిర్ణయించుకున్నారు. పలు సంస్థల ఆర్ధిక సహాయంతో అక్టోబరు 26, 1922 న బోస్టన్ చేరుకున్నారు. ముందుగ సుబ్బారావు గారు హార్వర్డ్ మెడికల్ స్కూల్ లో ట్రోపికల్  మెడిసిన్ లో డిప్లోమ చేసారు. ఆ రోజుల్లోఆర్ధిక ఇబ్బందుల వలన రాత్రి పూట పోర్టర్ గా పనిచేసారు. డిప్లోమ చేతికివచ్చిన అతనికి బయో-కెమిస్ట్రీలో పరిశోధన చెయ్యాలని ఆలోచన కలిగి,  ప్రొఫెసర్ ఫిస్క్ ల్యాబ్ లో చేరారు. జీవరసాయన శాస్త్రంలో వీరిద్దరూ చేసిన ఎన్నోఅద్భుతమైన పరిశోధనల వలన వీరిద్దరి పేర్లు చిరస్మరణీయంగా నిలిచిపోయాయి.ముఖ్యంగా మన కండరాలు పనిచేయడానికి తోడ్పడే phosphocreatine మరియు ATP అనే రెండు రసాయనిక పదార్ధాలను మొదటిసారిగా కనిపెట్టారు.   వీరు 1925 లో ప్రచురించిన "phosphate determination" పధ్ధతి కాలేజీబయో కెమిస్ట్రీ పుస్తకాల్లోకి 1930 లో అచ్చువేసారు. ఈ పధ్ధతిని "Fiske -Subbarow method" అని అంటారు. ఈ పరిశోధనల ఆధారంగా సుబ్బారావు గారికి 1930 లో హార్వర్డ్ యూనివెర్సిటీ  వారుPh. D. పట్టాను బహూకరించి బయో కెమిస్ట్రీలో జూనియర్ లెక్చరర్ గా ఉద్యోగం ఇచ్చారు.  

       

       1940 లో సుబ్బారావు గారు న్యూయార్క్ లో ఉన్నLederle Laboratories అనే ఔషధ పరిశోధన కేంద్రంలో రిసెర్చ్ డైరెక్టర్ గా వెళ్ళారు. అప్పుడు రెండవ ప్రపంచ యుద్ధంజరుగుతుంది. సైనికులు గాయాలతో చనిపోతున్నారు. గాయాలకన్న వాటికి సోకిన bacterial infection వలన ఎక్కువమంది చనిపోతున్నారు.యుద్ధరంగం నుంచి, ప్రపంచంలో వివిధ ప్రాంతాలనుంచి వచ్చిన  soil samples ను సుబ్బారావు గారు పరిశీలించి, వాటిలోని  బాక్టీరియాని అరికట్టే మూలపదార్ధాలను కనిపెట్టారు. ఈ విధంగా సుబ్బారావు గారిఆధ్వర్యంలో మొదటి టెట్రాసైక్లిన్ మందు కనిపెట్టారు. వీరే సొంతంగా  ఫోలిక్ యాసిడ్ అంటే vitamin B6 కొత్త పంథాలో తయారు చేసారు. ఇది అనేమియాను తగ్గించండానికి పనిచేస్తుంది. వీటన్నిటికన్నా ముఖ్యంగా కేన్సర్ వ్యాధికి మందు methotrexateని వీరు కనిపెట్టారు. ఫైలేరియాని నయంచేసే హెట్రజాన్ అనే మందుని కూడా వీరే కనుగొన్నారు. 

  

      డా.ఎల్లాప్రగడ సుబ్బారావు గారి పరిశోధన ఫలితాలవల్ల ఎంతోమందికి జీవన కాలం పెరిగింది. కాని ఇతను తక్కువ వయసులోనే 1948 లో మరణించారు. వీరి ఆకస్మిక మరణాన్ని న్యూయార్క్  పత్రికలలో అద్భుతమయిన మందులను కనిపెట్టిన ఒక అద్భుత వ్యక్తి మరణించారని కొనియాడారు.మానవాళికి ఇంత మేలు చేసిన శ్రీ సుబ్బారావు గారికి ఎలాంటి బిరుదులు, బహుమతులు అందలేదు. వీరికి భారతరత్న బిరుదు ఇవ్వాలని చాలామంది భారతప్రభుత్వాన్ని కోరారు.ఇంతవరకు అది జరగలేదు. వీరి పేరు ప్రఖ్యాతులు ఈ తరం వారికి చాలా మందికి తెలియదు. మనమయినా ఈ మహనీయుడు మన బోస్టన్ కు చెందిన తెలుగువాడని గర్విద్దాం. వీరి గురించి తెలుసుకొని పదిమందికి వీరు చేసిన మేలు గురించి చెప్పడం మన బాధ్యత. ముఖ్యంగా సుబ్బారావు గారి జీవనం మన పిల్లలకు ఒకస్ఫూర్తినివ్వాలి.

An Inspiring Day of My Childhood  - a tribute to Har Gobind Khorana

by Govinda Bhisetti

I remember the day vividly, but I do not remember the date. I know I was in 6th grade in a new school with old friends and new classmates. The monsoon rains ended, and also the festival season. The cold weather had not set in yet. There was greenery all around and the rice fields were filled with clear standing water. It is my favorite time of the year. We were back in school after Dasara holidays.

My guess is that the date was October 18th or 19th of 1968. It was a bright and beautiful day. I learned in school that Har Gobind Khorana was awarded the Nobel Prize. I remember the excitement and joy all around me. It was overwhelming. I was also thrilled that my first name is the same as his, though we spell it differently. Khorana is one of us – one born among the teaming (500+) millions in India who climbed the pinnacle of science and brought the biggest science prize and glory to the nation – a fantastic Diwali gift to the whole nation. Diwali was celebrated on October 21, 1968. This was the first Nobel Prize awarded to an Indian after India’s Independence. Only two others (Rabindranath Tagore in 1913 for literature and Sir C. V. Raman in 1930 for Physics) got this honor decades earlier. Few people I knew had memory of those events. Nobel Prize to Khorana happened in our time… it was a momentous day!

While sitting in a middle school classroom in a small town in a remote part of India, it was not possible for me to grasp the magnitude of this success or comprehend how a person born in a poor family of rural Punjab rose to become a world famous scientist and win the Nobel Prize. Khorana showed that it was possible for an Indian to achieve feats as stupendous as winning the Nobel Prize. But most of us felt that it was possible only for a rare gifted individual like Khorana – one in a million. The science Khorana did was so incomprehensible for my little mind. Even the teacher who told us Khorana created life matter in a test tube, found his work to be so exotic and difficult to explain. America, where Khorana lived and worked, was far away in a distant continent that was unreachable even to the wishful wanderings of my mind. I did not imagine in my wildest dreams that one day I would meet Har Gobind Khorana and sit down with him for a chat. But, it did happen! It happened 20 years later.

Several moths after Khorana’s Nobel Prize in October of 1968, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon on July 20, 1969. These two events left an indelible impression on my young mind. These events may have contributed to my choice of a career in science, instead of pursuing medicine or engineering like many of my friends. I went to Indian Institute of Science to get my Ph. D., and joined Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA) as a Research Fellow. One day at Scripps in 1988, somebody said Khorana was in the building. He was a member of Scripps Governing Board and used to visit Scripps. I rushed to the lobby from lab and got a glimpse of him as he was heading out. About a year later in January 1989, I attended a conference at NIH (National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD). Khorana was an invited speaker at the conference. I was thrilled to hear his lecture on rhodopsin - the pigment in the eye’s retina that is responsible for the first step in the biological perception of light. During the coffee break, I was chatting one-on-one with Tom Blundell (a famous protein crystallographer from University of London) when Khorana walked by. Blundell immediately got up on his feet, bent over respectfully to greet Khorana. Khorana sat down with us for coffee and that is when I got my chance to introduce myself and shake hands with him. It was a dream come true… a dream I never dared to dream. For those few minutes, I was on cloud nine.

Prof. Har Gobind Khorana passed away on November 9. He has been an inspiration to a lot of students and scientists in India. Because of Khorana’s important contributions to science, I have decided to dedicate a part of Science Day to pay tribute to Prof. Khorana. At the Annual Science Day to be held on December 29, 2011 at my house (in Lexington, MA), students from 6th to 12th grade living in nearby towns are invited to discuss the scientific works of the 2011 Nobel Prize Winners, Science Breakthroughs of the Year, and Global events of the Year.

20 children get HIV, Hepatitis C after blood transfusion

JODHPUR: Over 20 children suffering from thalassaemia have tested positive for HIV and Hepatitis C allegedly after transfusion of infected blood at a government hospital here, two years after a similar incident had prompted an inquiry by the Rajasthan government.

Terming it a case of negligence, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the State government was responsible for the incident.

While three children were found infected with HIV in May after they were tested at the S.N. Medical College, 17 more tested positive for the Hepatitis C virus, the Marwar Thalassaemia Society claimed. Two more children were infected with Hepatitis B.

Probe panel formed

Hospital officials said that a three-member committee had been formed by the hospital to enquire into the matter.

“It is a case of negligence. It is the responsibility of the State government to take proper precautions,” Mr. Azad said in Srinagar.

At least five children were infected with HIV and 29 with Hepatitis at the same hospital in December 2008 following transfusion of infected blood after which the State government had constituted a committee headed by the Director of State AIDS Control Society R.N.D. Purohit, who had suggested the need for reforms in blood donation process.

‘No action taken'

Secretary of Thalassaemia Society Vipin Gupta claimed that no action was taken on the report.

“Had the step been taken on the recommendation of that committee, we would not have had these new HIV infections,” he said.

However, the principal of S.N. Medical College, R.K. Aseri, said that a proposal for introducing the advanced Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) technique has already been sent to the State government. — PTI

http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/13/stories/2010071361590900.htm
Tuesday, Jul 13, 2010

State decides to back HIV positive weddings
March 2nd, 2010
By DC Correspondent , DC Correspondent
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/hyderabad/state-decides-back-hiv-positive-weddings-470


Hyderabad, March 1: HIVMarriages, a marriage bureau for people who are HIV positive, was the first of its kind in the state when it was set up in 2008. There are now eight such agencies across the country, most of them established by people living with HIV.

In the last two years, the marriage bureau has arranged marriages for about 70 people and another eight are waiting for auspicious days in the month of April to tie the knot.

Shunned by family and society, many HIV positive people in the state have chosen to marry a fellow HIV affected person.

A former HIV positive network activist is promoting this cause. Inspired by the success of the marriage bureau, the state government has decided to do its bit to encourage such “positive marriages.”

“We are planning to extend incentives to HIV positive marriages on the lines of inter-caste marriages,” said Mr R.V. Chandravadan, the project director of the AP State Aids Control Society (APSacs).

The government can’t run a marriage bureau, but it can take the help of NGOs to provide necessary help to the affected people, he said.

The demand for such a service is so great that the AP Legislators Forum for HIV positive people recently demanded that the government set up a marriage bureau in the district headquarters so that HIV positive people can lead a normal life.

There are 84,797 HIV positive people in the state with more than 70 per cent falling in the age group of 25-49 years. Most of them are widows who lost their husbands to the dreaded infection.

For the people who register, marriage with a fellow HIV carrier provides not just companionship, but also a practical base for dealing with the illness, including mutual monitoring of medication and sharing the cost of treatment.

Doctors working in the field say that marriage between those infected can help prevent the spread of the virus. Complete information about the person’s health and economic status will be provided to the interested so that they could take a rational decision.

“Everything should be clear before the wedding. We provide counselling sessions to ensure that the couple is mature enough to handle health-related problems,” said Mr B.S.H. Prasad of HIVMarriages.

A commonly used AIDS drug may double the risk of heart attack

In a study published online by the medical journal Lancet (April 2, 2008), Ziagen, appears to double the chances of a heart attack compared to patients on other AIDS drugs, the researchers reported. Those on Videx had a 50 percent higher chance. But the risk disappeared six months after patients stopped taking the drugs.


No increased heart attack risk was found for patients on the other drugs in the study, zidovudine (AZT), stavudine (Zerit) or lamivudine (Epivir).

House Approves Global AIDS Program

By JIM ABRAMS
The Associated Press
Wednesday, April 2, 2008; 4:22 PM
Wednesday, April 2, 2008; 4:22 PM

WASHINGTON -- The House voted Wednesday to triple to more than $10 billion a year U.S. humanitarian spending on fighting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa and other stricken areas of the world.

About $41 billion of the $50 billion over five years would be devoted to AIDS, significantly expanding a program credited with saving more than 1 million lives in Africa alone in the largest U.S. investment ever against a single disease.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/02/AR2008040202497.html

U.N. to Say It Overstated H.I.V. Cases by Millions

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Published: November 20, 2007

NY Times

The United Nations’ AIDS-fighting agency plans to issue a report today acknowledging that it overestimated the size of the epidemic and that new infections with the deadly virus have been dropping each year since they peaked in the late 1990s.

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In July, India’s estimated caseload was revised downward, to 2.5 million, from 5.7 million — a change that accounts for about half the drop in the new Unaids figures. Officials said then that India’s epidemic was not “generalized” — that is, it had not spread far from the original high-risk groups like brothel workers and clients, truckers, heroin users and gay men. Also, rates among prostitutes appeared to have fallen as condoms gained acceptance. Instead of being considered the world’s worst-hit country, India fell to third place behind South Africa and Nigeria.

For full article, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/world/20aids.html?em&ex=1195707600&en=31f3e10a7303e9ea&ei=5070

U.N. to Say It Overstated H.I.V. Cases by Millions

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Published: November 20, 2007

NY Times

The United Nations’ AIDS-fighting agency plans to issue a report today acknowledging that it overestimated the size of the epidemic and that new infections with the deadly virus have been dropping each year since they peaked in the late 1990s.

----

In July, India’s estimated caseload was revised downward, to 2.5 million, from 5.7 million — a change that accounts for about half the drop in the new Unaids figures. Officials said then that India’s epidemic was not “generalized” — that is, it had not spread far from the original high-risk groups like brothel workers and clients, truckers, heroin users and gay men. Also, rates among prostitutes appeared to have fallen as condoms gained acceptance. Instead of being considered the world’s worst-hit country, India fell to third place behind South Africa and Nigeria.

For full article, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/world/20aids.html?em&ex=1195707600&en=31f3e10a7303e9ea&ei=5070