Take heed of warnings

IT concerns me to note that the public are not heeding to the messages being sent to stop or slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
There are two basic reasons why countries all over the world including PNG are taking drastic measures to stop and contain the virus.
It is a war. Firstly, it is a highly contagious infection.
It means it can spread very easily from person to person by breathing air droplets full of virus coughed up by someone without covering their mouth properly.
You don’t have to breathe in three or four times or 20 times for that matter to pick up the virus.
Only one exposure is enough to get it into your body especially through the nose (respiratory system).
This is so compared to other contagious illness such as tuberculosis bacteria where you need many exposure to the bacteria droplets before you become infected.
That’s why Governments are very concerned.
The other way someone gets infected is when they touch their faces or nose, eyes, mouth directly after touching body fluids especially the mucus/phlegm of an infected person.
This can come from handshakes, door handles of office, stores, buses and other items such as cardboard boxes where the virus can live up to 24 hours and plastics where it survive up to three days.
Other things such as metals, wood and clothes have less time in hours for the virus to survive.
Betel nut, lime and smoke are potential culprits to spread this virus.
The virus cannot get in through the hands or through sex.
The second most important reasons is that there is no cure or vaccine available to eliminate or prevent someone from getting this infectious disease.
Current statistics show at least ten percent fatality.
This means that those who do get hospitalised do not get curative treatment but supportive treatment to sustain life and allow own immune system to fight and get rid of the virus.
For clarity, if 100 people are tested positive then at least 10 are definitely going to die with or without treatment, no question about that.
Some developed countries have lesser fatality rate but generally that’s what we looking at.
So let’s say the community/village we live in has a population of 1,000.
If all of us get this virus then 100 of us will surely die of this virus.
Do we have the morgue facility, do we have the coffins, or do we have the money for haus krai? I don’t think so. In addition, the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, HIV etc have a higher chance of death than those who have healthy immune system once infected.
The good point about this virus is that it will live in the body for a maximum of 14 days and our body immune system will fight and get rid of it.
Once it is out of the body the person is free but can get re-infected and has to go through the isolation process again.
It does not stay in your body forever like the HIV virus.
Prevention is better than cure so take heed PNG.
Keep distance 1.5 meters from everyone. Don’t go to crowded places unless absolutely necessary and cover mouth and nose with handkerchief or hand towel when coughing or sneezing and wash hands regularly with warm water for 20 seconds.
Stay at home when you feel sick and send someone to communicate with a doctor or health worker.

Dr Banare Bun,
Physician, Lae