Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

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manju
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by manju »

deejay wrote:
manju wrote:I have tried to summarize what has happened so far.. i try to keep it up to date.. you may find this useful. http://tinyurl.com/Covid-UpdateStragegy-Vijay
Well done Sir!. Excellent effort. Thank You.
https://tinyurl.com/CovidUpdateStrategies correct link.. there was a spelling mistake
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by manju »

Government initiatives to address shortage of Hand Sanitizers:
The Government of India has taken several initiatives to prevent the spread of infection. To address shortage of essential supplies the government can consider


Shortage of Hand sanitizers: The government should consider mass production of alcohol based hand sanitizer. Currently all industrial production has been halted including industries that consume alcohol/spirit. The government should plan to open units that produce alcohol and channel these products to healthcare.

The best vaccination that we have at this time is keeping our hands clean. The more people that have access to hand sanitizer the more infections we can prevent.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by deejay »

manju wrote:
deejay wrote:
Well done Sir!. Excellent effort. Thank You.
https://tinyurl.com/CovidUpdateStrategies correct link.. there was a spelling mistake
It worked for me. I read your document.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by tandav »

manju wrote: In addition telemedicine would be useful to adapt as it will make available high level expertise even at the peripheral level. This would particularly be useful where an internist (for example) could be monitoring a large group (up to 50) remotely aided by on the field junior doctors and a couple of nurses. Aided by a checklist and protocol, these on the field staff could constantly gather data and at established thresholds obtain inputs from the remote internist to identify patients who might be going into respiratory failure. Social media platforms like whatsapp, telegram, or video conferencing tools can be used as well if needed for visualization of the patient. This team could then set up an intubation kit and while the others simultaneously notify the intensivist/critical care doctors so that preemptive intubation of the patient placement on the ventilator can happen smoothly. This process will eliminate the need to place the patient on an oxygen mask (non rebreather) or to provide positive pressure ventilation with (AMBU bag) which leads to aerosolization and increased risk of transmission to health care workers.

There will be a need for capacity building on a massive scale with the need to up skills all levels of care. asha worker playing role of assistant nurse, ... nurse playing role of intern/AYUSH doctor, who will in turn have to play role of MBBS doctor (experienced), MBBS doctors to play role of Consultant and so on.... We dont have enough internists (with vent skills) /anesthetists/critical care doc/ED docs to manage the surge lot of training / capacity building need. need for protocols and workflow. Hope the government is planning on it.

more details here https://tinyurl.com/CovidUpdateStrategies
T

This can be done by interested parties by crowd sourcing human capital in every locality. Create an SOP thread where the system is driven by whatsapp groups with 2-3 admins (specialists) who administer and monitor a group of 50+ patients in their locality via emedicine.

I am planning based on the above create a whatsapp group where COVID+ patients will self report their status (address and GPS location) based on symptoms and we will hopefully monitor their status on whatsapp and provide quarantine support via ZOOM/whatsapp video call with specialists etc. If they need support to transport to Hospital I have a car that I can drive them to hospital or we can call the ambulance for them. We can provide the ambulance person support while moving them to the hospital (loading and unloading).

Can relevant youtube videos for intubation/vent skills be shared so that capacity building be achieved remotely with anyone remotely medically capable say by dentists / eye care / skin care specialists can contribute.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Bart S »

Chinese malfeasance goes well beyond the CCP cover-up. Check out this thread showing messages from a thermometer exporter:
https://twitter.com/jenniferatntd/statu ... 77761?s=20

It was on the news that India just received a large shipment of masks and PPE, though it did not specify from where. In case it was from China, I hope the reliability is not taken for granted. :evil:
Last edited by Bart S on 29 Mar 2020 18:29, edited 1 time in total.
manju
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by manju »

Intubation/ Vent skills cannot be taught denovo (some one who has not done it before). Videos will help some recall skills if they have done it in past and the skills are rusty.. It has to be learnt on the machines/job preferably
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Guddu »

Image
arshyam
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by arshyam »

^^ Goes to show these reports are mostly meaningless. See who's the most affected and their place in that chart.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by tandav »

Lots of resources here... however doctor person Tsai from Harvard is saying HCQ+AZMYCN+ZincSulphate is similar to a placebo

https://www.quora.com/q/coronavirus
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Mollick.R »

In social media found various liberandu posts like "Bill Gates, Jack Ma donate while Indian rich clap from balconies: Tweeple".

I don't want to write much about the background political reasons of such posts by leftist gang.

But i feel this thread "Wuhan Coronavirus Resource thread" should highlight & as well as have it for future record purpose too "How INDIAN corporates are helping in coronavirus fight" . Mods may remove the post or shift it to any other thread as per their discretion.

So here it is.....................
Mukesh Ambani donates hospital, Tata Trust Rs 500 cr; find out how corporates are helping in coronavirus fight

Updated : 2020-03-28 19:02:06
Here's a look at how corporate India is helping the government fight the coronavirus outbreak by donating crores of rupees and medical equipment and opening hospitals.

Billionaires Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Anil Agarwal and others have pledged to donate whole heartedly to combat coronavirus. Read on to find out how India Inc is helping authorities root out the deadly virus. (Image: Reuters)

Mukesh Ambani, CMD Reliance Industries | Apart from providing an initial support of Rs 5 crore to the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, Reliance Foundation is providing free meals to people across various cities in partnership with NGOs. The company also said that it would double the salaries of those who earn less than Rs 30,000. Under its #GiveIndia campaign, employees of Network18 Group have pledged to donate one day’s salary as financial assistance for daily wage earners. The company is also boosting capacity to manufacture 100,000 face masks daily along with personal protective equipment (PPE).

The oil-to-telecom conglomerate has set up a dedicated 100-bed centre at Seven Hills Hospital in Mumbai, and an fully-equipped isolation facility in Lodhivali, Maharashtra for COVID-19 patients. (Image: RIL)

Tata Group | The conglomerate has pledged Rs 500 crore in the fight against coronavirus on March 28. Earlier, it had assured all group companies that full payment will be made to temporary workers and daily wage earners for the months of March and April. (Image: PTI)

Bajaj Group | The Pune-based company on March 26 pledged Rs 100 crore to be used to support upgradation of healthcare infrastructure, initiatives for providing food and shelter, and economic aid programme in rural areas. (Image: Reuters)

Anand Mahindra, Chairman Mahindra Group | The industrialist said his company would get its manufacturing units to make ventilators to strengthen efforts to combat the disease. Mahindra has offered its resorts to be used as temporary care facilities. He also announced that Mahindra Foundation will create a fund to assist the hardest-hit sections and donated 100 percent of his salary to the fund. (Image: IANS)

Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources | The 66-year-old has committed Rs 100 crore for the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. The Rs 100-crore fund is part of Vedanta Resources’ efforts to help the government combat the pandemic. (Image: Reuters)

Pankaj Munjal, MD Hero Cycles | The auto major has set aside Rs 100 crore as a contingency fund to help in the fight against coronavirus. The company has also set up an emergency monitoring cell to closely monitor the economic ramifications brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak, and the impact it will have on employees, suppliers and customers in India.

Diageo | the British MNC is repurposing 15 of its units in India to produce 300,000 litres of sanitiser to meet demand. It is also donating 500,000 litres of Extra Neutral Alcohol to make 2 million units hand sanitisers. The company will provide Rs 3 crore health insurance cover for bartenders associated with the Diageo World Class programme in India, apart from donating 150,000 masks to five public health departments across India. (Image: Reuters)

Anita Dongre, fashion designer | The founder of House of Anita Dongre (right) has set up a medical fund of Rs 1.5 crore in support self-employed artisans, vendors, and those associated with the brand.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder Paytm | The Paytm founder is foregoing two months’ salary to help those employees who need money. (Image: CNBC-TV18)

Manu Kumar Jain, MD Xiaomi India | The 39-year-old said that the China-headquartered company is donating N95 masks for government hospitals and state police in Karnataka, Punjab and Delhi. Xiaomi India is also donating hazmat suits for doctors at AIIMS. (Image: PTI)

Anupama Nadella | The wife of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has donated Rs 2 crore to the Telangana Chief Minister’s Welfare Fund to help poor people during the lockdown. (Image: Reuters)

Sudha Murthy, Chairperson Infosys Foundation | She has announced that the foundation would lend help establish smart classes in 1,000 government higher primary schools in Karnataka in a Rs 20 crore project. Note: This slideshow has been updated with latest developments. (Image: CNCB-TV18)


https://www.cnbctv18.com/photos/healthc ... 556901.htm
Anand Mahindra to offer 100% salary to deal with coronavirus
BY ET BUREAU | MAR 22, 2020, 02.51 PM IST


Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra has decided to offer his 100% salary to deal with the rising menace of Coronavirus and has directed his group to immediately begin work on manufacturing of ventilators at its own factories as Covid-19 appears to be reaching the stage 3 of transmission.

Mahindra on Sunday tweeted that going by various reports from epidemiologists, it is highly likely that India is already in stage 3 of transmission. The case could rise exponentially with millions of casualties, putting a huge strain on medical infrastructure

"A lock-down over the next few weeks will help flatten the curve and moderate the peak pressure on medical care. However we need to create scores of temporary hospitals and we have a scarcity of ventilators. To help in the response to this unprecedented threat, we at Mahindra Group will immediately begin work on our manufacturing facilities can make ventilators," added Mahindra.

The chairman of $20.7 billion Group added that Mahindra Holidays will offer resorts as temporary care facilities and the group's project team stands ready to assist the Govt/Army in erecting the temporary care facilities.

The Mahindra Foundation will create a fund to assist the hardest hit in our value chain (small businesses and the self employed)

"We will encourage associates to voluntarily contribute this fund. I will contribute 100% of my salary to it and will add more over the next few months. I will urge all our various businesses to also set aside contributions for those who are the hardest hit in their ecosystem," assured Mahindra.


https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 758456.cms
India’s Industry Leaders Step Up With Donations And Free Services Amid Sweeping COVID-19 Lockdown

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anuraghuna ... 9f6d876fe1
CSR: ITC sets up Rs 150 cr COVID Contingency Fund

https://indiacsr.in/itc-sets-up-rs-150- ... ency-fund/
Ratan Tata donates Rs 500 crores for coronavirus pandemic
NH Bureau Saturday, 28 March 2020 08:33:32 PM


https://www.newsheads.in/business/compa ... icle-60957
Tatas commit Rs 1500 crore to fight coronavirus
https://www.rediff.com/business/report/ ... 200329.htm
Mahindra to manufacture Ford-designed face shield
By Ajit Dalvi 28 Mar 2020
Mahindra & Mahindra set to make face shields for medical service providers, using a Ford design. (Image: Dr Pawan Goenka/Twitter)
Mahindra & Mahindra, which is actively engaged in the fight against coronavirus and is assisting the government of India and medical services, is to begin manufacture of a face shield/mask, developed from a design sourced from Ford Motor Corporation, from March 30.

The Mahindra and Ford collaborative effort is a good example of a set of automotive industry alliance partners contributing to the fight against coronavirus.

In a tweet this evening, Dr Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, said: "With a design sourced from our partner Ford Motor, we are now ready to make this Face Shield for use of medical service providers. Targeting to make 500 on Monday and then ramp up."

Also working on sophisticated, low-cost ventilator
Meanwhile, the company, is concurrently working on developing a sophisticated but low-cost ventilator. On March 26, in a series of tweets, Dr Goenka had said that Mahindra & Mahindra, along with two large PSUs, is working with an existing manufacturer of high-spec ventilators to help simplify the design and also scale up manufacturing capacity.

The company is hopeful of having a prototype of an automated version of the bag-type mask ventilator (known as Ambu bag) very soon. An update on this is expected on March 29. Dr Goenka's tweet read, " Once proven, this design will be made available to all for manufacturing."

It is understood that the company's personnel at the Kandivli and Igatpuri plants in Maharashtra worked to develop this low-cost ventilator, estimated to cost around Rs 7,500. Referring to the same, Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra, tweeted: "This could be a game-changer in quickly providing large numbers of low cost life savers, particularly when ICU ventilators are still scarce."

As per medical dictionaries, an Ambu Bag is a self-refilling bag-valve-mask unit with a 1- to 1.5-litre capacity, used for artificial respiration which, while suboptimal for the non-intubated patient, is effective in for ventilating and oxygenating intubated patients, allowing both spontaneous and artificial respiration.

https://www.autocarpro.in/news-national ... ards-56012
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JSW announces Rs 100 crores contribution to PM-CARES, converts some facilities into isolation wards
BY BHAVYA DILIPKUMAR, ET BUREAU | MAR 29, 2020, 01.57 PM IST

MUMBAI: JSW Group, an Indian business conglomerate in metals and mining has announced contributing Rs 100 crores to the prime minister’s citizen assistance and relief in emergency situations (PM-CARES) fund in the light of the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak.

The company has also said that it will convert some of its facilities into isolation wards, limiting the stress on community hospitals.
“Each employee of the JSW Group has committed a minimum of a single day’s salary as a donation to the PM–CARES fund. Many employees are voluntarily offering more than this as a contribution,” said the company in a statement. The fund will cater to source and import ventilators for immediate use in all healthcare facilities across the country and towards procuring testing kits, as well as personal protective equipment (masks, gloves etc) for health care workers. Communities around the JSW Group Facilities will be provided with staples and other essential dietary requirements, the company said. “We are continuously evaluating the situation and I can earnestly say that the JSW Group is committed to assisting the government in all ways possible to deal with all COVID - 19 related fallouts”, said JSW Group chairman, Sajjan Jindal.

These immediate contributions is what we see is the need of the hour, and we have earmarked further monetary and non-monetary contributions so as to allow us to dynamically respond to all societal requirements in the future, he added.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... s?from=mdr
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Last edited by Mollick.R on 29 Mar 2020 19:35, edited 1 time in total.
arshyam
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by arshyam »

^^ Excellent complication, thanks saar.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Guddu »

arshyam wrote:^^ Goes to show these reports are mostly meaningless. See who's the most affected and their place in that chart.
And you believe the Chinese numbers ?. US numbers are high because they have increased testing and are not hiding cases #s. Chinese # could be 100x, who knows.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Sachin »

manju wrote:The best vaccination that we have at this time is keeping our hands clean. The more people that have access to hand sanitizer the more infections we can prevent.
Kerala can be taken as an example here. There were liters of spirits etc. which were seized by Excise department. These have now been given to women's self help group and prisons etc. Where using a mix of these spirit, aloe vera gel and olive oil etc a simple hand sanitizer is being made.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Sachin »

Bart S wrote:Whatsapp fwds claim that most of these people are from WB (could include Bangladeshis) and are being a bit unreasonable, for e.g refusing cooked food as they only want Bengali style food?
Chances of them being Bangladeshis is quite high. Actually it is a good time for GoKL to get on with their identification as well. And when these folks did not want Kerala style food the authorities had issued them with dry rations asking them to cook their own food.
And the demand that vehicles be arranged to take them all the way back home to WB seems outrageous.
GoKL rejected this demand out right. They are now working with the agents and the organisations which used the migrant labour to run the business. In fact these labour agents and employers needs to be threatened with legal action if they don't take care of the migrant labour. And now there is also a rumour (the police is investigating) that this was a well cordinated event. A few "social workers" had started a Whatsapp campaign to trigger panic amongst the migrant labour.

The only bad aspect is that Kerala based media channels did NOT cover this incident with the same urgency and importance by which they covered the incidents in Northern India. That hypocrisy just cannot be ignored.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Bart S »

Sachin wrote:
manju wrote:The best vaccination that we have at this time is keeping our hands clean. The more people that have access to hand sanitizer the more infections we can prevent.
Kerala can be taken as an example here. There were liters of spirits etc. which were seized by Excise department. These have now been given to women's self help group and prisons etc. Where using a mix of these spirit, aloe vera gel and olive oil etc a simple hand sanitizer is being made.
Hand sanitizer needs to be about 70% or higher in alcohol content to be effective. Liquor for human consumption cannot be used for that purpose, even Captain Haddock would not be able to handle that level of alcohol content :oops: .

What can be done is for distilleries to switch to making industrial alcohol/ethanol which can be used for hand sanitizer manufacture. This was already being done in TN, and I believe that Diegeo which is now the largest alcohol manufacturer in the country has also switched to manufacturing industrial grade alchol.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by sudarshan »

Bart S wrote: Hand sanitizer needs to be about 70% or higher in alcohol content to be effective.
Isn't that with iso-propyl alcohol? Ethanol is way more potent? I could be wrong, just checking. Of course, the king is methanol, but that'll kill the guy as well.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by sudarshan »

Cain Marko wrote: Thanks for the detailed response Sudarshan.
WRT data, From their paper:
study used data on confirmed COVID-19 deaths by day from WHO websites and local and national governments

in terms of their mean line - I thought it overestimated the death numbers for the last 4 days since their mean line shows higher numbers than what actually happened. and so perhaps their total of 81k loss would also be an overestimate. But you suggest that they are underestimating. What am I missing?
Wonder why these data sources show differences? You saw the time series I had till March 24th in my previous post. Continuing till March 28th:

Date--------------nytimes------Author(s)
3/25/2020--------990--------------921
3/26/2020-------1275------------1194
3/27/2020-------1645------------1542
3/28/2020-------2221------------1979

That's why I said the actual data were above the estimates in that paper. Again, the source I'm using (labeled as "nytimes" above) is:

https://github.com/nytimes/covid-19-dat ... states.csv

Do you have the time series from WHO? How did you conclude that the actual data were below the mean-line curve?
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Post by sudarshan »

Kati wrote: Sudarshan-ji,
Thanks for your input.
Here is my thinking: There are two ways you can model the entire progress of the casualty and/or infected number over a time period.
(a) Bio-mathematical approach: Here you call your number at time t as N(t).
....

(b) Pure statistical approach: Just assume that N(t) can be expressed as a suitable linear or nonlinear function of N(t-s), for suitable max value(s) of s
....

I have no idea which method the researchers used to obtain their predictions. Most importantly, hope they verified all the model assumptions.
Pretty sure they went with approach (a) above. But I don't think they started from differential or difference equations, they seem to have picked an existing model and fit the data to that. From what I could see, they rejected sigmoidal models as bad fits to the data, and instead went with some kind of Gaussian model. Then estimated the parameters of the model, like you said. It seems to boil down to two three parameters, what they call "p," "alpha," and "beta." From my understanding, it seems the "beta" parameter would be more most critical (could be wrong).

Unfortunately, I didn't save the day-by-day death numbers from worldometer, and they don't provide this history, just the latest day's numbers. So I went to another site (the one I reference in my earlier post), but the numbers don't seem to match what the author(s) of that paper have. Wonder why.

Also, they fit to the log of the data, which would make the projections more sensitive to small changes in day-by-day data. Which is why the training data is critical. And which is also why their "zero" death rate is actually 1e-15, since you can't deal with log(0).
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by KLNMurthy »

SandeepA wrote:So their crown prince and their prime minister are both infected. Will the beebeecee still wail about mismanagement in india?
Yes.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Gerard »

German state finance minister Thomas Schäfer found dead
Investigators said an investigation on the scene confirmed the identity of the man as Schäfer and that the death was likely a suicide. Police did not immediately release further details of the case.
Bouffier also said that Schäfer had been living under considerable worry and stress because of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
"His main concern was whether he could manage to fulfill the huge expectations of the population, especially in terms of financial aid," Bouffier said on Sunday. "For him, there was clearly no way out. He was disappointed and so he had to leave us. That has shocked us, has shocked me."
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by arshyam »

Guddu wrote:
arshyam wrote:^^ Goes to show these reports are mostly meaningless. See who's the most affected and their place in that chart.
And you believe the Chinese numbers ?. US numbers are high because they have increased testing and are not hiding cases #s. Chinese # could be 100x, who knows.
Where in my post did I give credibility to the Chinese numbers? Kindly do illuminate..
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Post by Bart S »

sudarshan wrote:
Bart S wrote: Hand sanitizer needs to be about 70% or higher in alcohol content to be effective.
Isn't that with iso-propyl alcohol? Ethanol is way more potent? I could be wrong, just checking. Of course, the king is methanol, but that'll kill the guy as well.
I am by no means an expert on this, but I did read up on the topic and purchased some industrial grade (99%) alchohol (both Isopropyl and Ethanol, separate bottles) to dilute and use in an emergency as hand sanitizer stocks ran out in most shops several weeks ago. My understanding is that Isopropyl alcohol is more common but Ethanol also works. I think that Ethanol by default is denatured so might leave some traces whereas Isopropyl alcohol (which is toxic by itself if ingested) does not need to be denatured.

According to WHO guidelines on mixing your own hand sanitizer in an emergency, either Isopropyl Alcohol or Ethanol can be used.
https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Guide_to_ ... uction.pdf

For reference here is the ingredient list of Sterillium (a popular hand sanitizer in India among medical professionals):
45% 2-propanol IP
30% 1-propanol
0.2% Mecetronium Ethyl Sulphate (a powerful anti-microbial agent)
+moisturizers and water

Those ingredients seem to be Isopropyl based.

Microshield which is another one popular in hospitals etc is pretty much the same except that it uses Chlorhexidine as the anti-microbial agent. This is not really required for basic hand sanitization (for which 70% alcohol will do the job) as these products are designed for medical environments that require more stringent and long-lasting action. Most commercial ones like Dettol, Lifebuoy etc just have alcohol, moisturizer and perfume.
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Post by Bart S »

8 new cases in TN today, all in Erode and linked to the foreign Tableeghi Jamaat preachers.
23 new cases in Delhi, I wouldn't be surprised if they are mostly or all people from 'peaceful' ghettos. IIRC several of the people associated with the Shaheen Bagh protest were also infected and given the propensity to flout rules and group together for prayers, this might just be the tip of the iceberg.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by vijayk »

Image

A friend of mine plotted data over last few days.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by srin »

The infected rate indicators are lagging indicators - they manifest around a week or so after the infection spread. So, I'm hoping that by end of this week, we should start seeing a drop in infection rates wherever the lockdown has been effective. Now, because of this migrant issue from Delhi to UP/Bihar, we'll probably see an infection spike after a week and then a drop (hopefully, they are quarantined well).

Good to do random testing of the migrants, so we get an advance warning of where the blow out happens (hoping that it won't).
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Post by vijayk »

when are they doing anti-body testing in India?
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Deans »

milindc wrote:
Mollick.R wrote:Does it makes sense ??????

I don't think it makes sense, because there is time lag if approx 14 days from infection of person to that person showing up as infected person in govt. records.........

Just 4-7 days to onset of initial symptoms that include fever and cough, per people on the field in UK. 14 days is outlier.
We should see lot of infected in next 4-5 days going for medical care if indeed the infection is prevalent in India.
However, the govt machinery is not testing people unless they qualify for all 3 criteria
1) Fever
2) Cough
3) Travel history or contact with traveller
The criteria adopted since 21 March are:
1. Symptoms with a travel history
2. Contact with a Corona positive person (even if you don't have symptoms - earlier criteria was presence of symptoms).
3. (new) Anyone admitted for severe respiratory problems.
4. (new) Medical / testing staff in contact with patients.
5. (new), If you feel you have symptoms without a travel history or contact with a positive case, you can pay to get tested in a pvt lab.
(If positive, second test is free, along with those of family).

The new criteria has resulted in an increased number of tests only from 26th Mar, when private labs started testing.
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Post by nam »

Another case of success with anti-malaria drug.
https://twitter.com/JimSantilli/status/ ... 2801906689
I was hospitalized due to #Covid_19. It was a struggle to breathe and I felt like I was slowly drowning. Luckily, the doctors decided to try Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin. Within a few hours, the gasping for air stopped and I began improving. I went home 3 days later!
putnanja
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by putnanja »

From Anand Ranganathan on twitter. Gives link to a paper claiming that mortality rates are lower in countries where compulsory BCG was practised for a long time
Anand Ranganathan
@ARanganathan72
·
6m
Preliminary evidence but I congratulate
@dasgobardhan
dada, India's top immunologist. He told me the exact same TWO weeks ago.

Paper just out today (non-peer-reviewed) establishes a correlation between CoVID19 cases/deaths and BCG vaccination.
MUST-READ. https://medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/202 ... 1.full.pdf
vijayk
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by vijayk »

https://www.theweek.in/news/health/2020 ... virus.html

All about Cuba’s ‘wonder drug’ being pitched against coronavirusThe anti-viral drug was used for treatment in China
One of these medicines picked by the Chinese National Heath Commission has been creating news, with many calling it a wonder drug. The anti-viral drug called Interferon Alfa-2B is produced in China, by a Cuban-Chinese joint venture ChangHeber. Considered one of the stars of the Cuban biotechnology boom, the drug has reportedly been effective in the treatment of HIV, human papilloma virus, Hepatitis B and C.



According to reports, this Cuban drug has proven effective in treatment of viruses that show characteristics similar to the novel coronavirus. While Ireland is considering bringing in Cuban drugs to combat COVID-19, Cuba has already sent its emergency contingent of doctors and nurses to fight the novel coronavirus in Italy.


The effectiveness of the interferon treatment on COVID-19 is yet to be scientifically proven.

What are interferons

Interferons are proteins that are part of our body’s natural defence systems, and draw their name from the word ‘interfere’’ because they interfere with viruses and prevent them from multiplying. According to WebMD, there are three types of interferons. Cells that have been infected with viruses or other germs give off interferon-alpha and interferon-beta as a warning signal to your immune system. That triggers immune cells called white blood cells to release interferon-gamma to fight the germs.

Interferon drugs are man-made versions of the proteins that the human body creates. The drugs equip the body to tackle viruses, preventing them from multiplying in the body. Interferon drugs first emerged for cancer therapy. Interferons have also been used in the treatment of HIV and AIDS.

Cuba manufactured its first interferon in 1981 and was used in the treatment of the haemorrhagic dengue epidemic in Cuba the same year. The country later manufactured ‘recombinant’ human interferon Alfa-2B in 1986.
Bart S
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Bart S »

^^How long ago did India start vaccinating people for TB? Can't be that long ago because we still have a massive number of TB patients.
vijayk
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by vijayk »

putnanja wrote:From Anand Ranganathan on twitter. Gives link to a paper claiming that mortality rates are lower in countries where compulsory BCG was practised for a long time
Anand Ranganathan
@ARanganathan72
·
6m
Preliminary evidence but I congratulate
@dasgobardhan
dada, India's top immunologist. He told me the exact same TWO weeks ago.

Paper just out today (non-peer-reviewed) establishes a correlation between CoVID19 cases/deaths and BCG vaccination.
MUST-READ. https://medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/202 ... 1.full.pdf
https://www.abundance.org/crucial-resea ... alled-bcg/
What we’re funding right now

Leading the research effort, Chief Abundance Partner, epidemiologist Dr. Megan Murray, Director of Harvard Medical School’s Global Health Research Core, is looking to arrest the spread of COVID-19 using BCG, the world’s most widely-used vaccine. Since the 1920’s, BCG has been produced and distributed worldwide for pennies, and can immediately jump to Phase III clinical trials, saving nearly a year compared to newly developed drugs and vaccines. BCG has consistently shown far-reaching benefits against a wide range of infections (e.g. malaria, yellow fever, and various pneumonias), and there is a strong scientific basis for believing it could be effective against COVID-19.

If proven, it would save countless lives.

Abundance has already committed $500,000 to Dr. Murray’s work, with nearly half of that amount focused on her COVID-19 work in Boston, Peru and Taiwan to assess the power of this approach in stopping the spread of the pandemic. However, this is just a fraction of the funds required for this crucial research. This is research that the pharmaceutical industry and venture capitalists are unlikely to fund regardless of the potential benefit, because the profit motive is just not there. This is where you can make a difference.

Dr. Murray has the scientific and policy chops to change paradigms. She directed the Abundance-funded response to the Ebola epidemic, which proved the accuracy of rapid diagnostic tests that had never before been studied in the field. Along with Chief Abundance Partner, Dr. Louise Ivers, she also proved the efficacy of the Cholera vaccine in the midst of the Haiti epidemic, fundamentally changing how this vaccine was used worldwide. She needs your support now for this new fight against COVID-19.

Finally, in addition to Dr. Murray’s work, front line health care workers in some of the most vulnerable communities battling COVID-19 need resources now. Abundance has existing relationships and the ability to deploy funds to these groups immediately, and will continue to support their work through this fund.
Last edited by vijayk on 29 Mar 2020 23:40, edited 1 time in total.
Bart S
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Bart S »

Looks like some heads rolling for the reverse-migration fiasco in Delhi:
https://twitter.com/sidhant/status/1244 ... 01984?s=20

Looks like the action was taken by Amit Shah's office.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by kvraghav »

Bart S wrote:Looks like some heads rolling for the reverse-migration fiasco in Delhi:
https://twitter.com/sidhant/status/1244 ... 01984?s=20

Not sure if action was taken by Centre or state though (I think it would be the former).

Added later: Confirmation from various journalists on twitter that Amit Shah's office has taken the action.
It takes a presidential order to even suspend them? No wonder they are so blatant and shameless because the max they cen get is transfer.
vijayk
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by vijayk »

https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/new ... -covid-19/
Australian researchers to trial BCG vaccine for Covid-19
SriKumar
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by SriKumar »

kvraghav wrote:
Bart S wrote:Looks like some heads rolling for the reverse-migration fiasco in Delhi:
https://twitter.com/sidhant/status/1244 ... 01984?s=20

Not sure if action was taken by Centre or state though (I think it would be the former).

Added later: Confirmation from various journalists on twitter that Amit Shah's office has taken the action.
It takes a presidential order to even suspend them? No wonder they are so blatant and shameless because the max they cen get is transfer.
This is exactly what I was alluding to in the other 'POst-Covid India thread'. One reason there is so much nonchalance in the administration is that it one has to move heaven and earth to hold officials accountable for malfeasance and mal-intent. The president of India should not be involved in administrative matters like there. The head of that department (whichever it is) should have had the authority to suspend the officers. (And what is suspension anyway- it is not termination, I presume; so they will get reinstated a few months from now, and receive full pay during suspesion, I assume?). This aspect of administration has to be cleared out thoroughly. The Covid situation is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to clearn the administration. Not even the Kargil war has presented the GOI this kind of an opportunity.
ramana
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by ramana »

Do we want to continue or start new thread.?
My view is continue to retain focus.
New thread always loses continuity.
sanjaykumar
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by sanjaykumar »

Watch out for second outbreak caused by foreign garbage

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/8PbJjsRueJllEt9t3tzO1g

Of course close to 100% of the foreign garbage responsible for the new cases in China are returning Chinese. But hopefully Chinese will be slow to notice.
SRajesh
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by SRajesh »

Bart S wrote:^^How long ago did India start vaccinating people for TB? Can't be that long ago because we still have a massive number of TB patients.
BCG was started as routine 1962 :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4078488/
gives some time scales 8)
SriKumar
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by SriKumar »

GIven the paucity of information of survivability of virus on surfaces even two months after it wreaked havoc over 2 continents, I am scouring around for other sources. Found this article published in 2010 (Hong Kong-based researchers) on SARS Coronavirus https://www.hindawi.com/journals/av/2011/734690/
It lasts about 5 days in air-conditioned environments. Higher temperature (38 C) AND higher humidity (95%) seem to reduce its potency significantly.

Question to hakims/molecular bilogists: Would the lessons transfer to Wuhan virus since both are Coronoviruses with most of the nucleotide sequence being significantly similar, one would assume. Abstract:
The main route of transmission of SARS CoV infection is presumed to be respiratory droplets. However the virus is also detectable in other body fluids and excreta. The stability of the virus at different temperatures and relative humidity on smooth surfaces were studied. The dried virus on smooth surfaces retained its viability for over 5 days at temperatures of 22–25°C and relative humidity of 40–50%, that is, typical air-conditioned environments. However, virus viability was rapidly lost (>3 log10) at higher temperatures and higher relative humidity (e.g., 38°C, and relative humidity of >95%). The better stability of SARS coronavirus at low temperature and low humidity environment may facilitate its transmission in community in subtropical area (such as Hong Kong) during the spring and in air-conditioned environments. It may also explain why some Asian countries in tropical area (such as Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand) with high temperature and high relative humidity environment did not have major community outbreaks of SARS.
ramana:
my suggestion is to let this thread continue. There are many good posts made 2-3 weeks ago that should stay in the same thread discussing the virus.
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