Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

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sajo
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by sajo »

Even more appalling stuff from Maharashtra

- Bodies lying next to CoronaVirus patients, some being even tended to by Family members.

https://www.ndtv.com/mumbai-news/corona ... s_Trending

I am not sure why this is not even making the airwaves elsewhere!

I am wondering if its better to take one's chances and stay put at home than to risk an even severe form of the infection by visiting a Govt hospital ? Private hospitals will anyway turn you away.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Zynda »

‘Expect Covid-19 to peak around June-July in India, the way cases are increasing’: AIIMS director
While the central government is confident of warding off the threat soon, experts and medics still believe the worst is yet to come. With around 53,000 cases across the country and nearly 1,800 deaths over the past four months of the outbreak in India, the threat is very much imminent in this country of over 135 crore people.

The Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, Dr Randeep Guleria, on Thursday said that the peak of the pandemic outbreak is yet to arrive in India and he has predicted it to be at its worst around June-July.

“According to modelling data and the way our cases are increasing, it is likely that the peak can come in June and July. But, there are many variables and with time only we will know how much they are effective and the effect of extending the lockdown,” Guleria said.

His statements come a day after telling The Indian Express that the curve has not shown a downward trend yet, though the nationwide lockdown has helped flatten it.

“The next four to six weeks will be very, very important because the lockdown cannot be there forever,” the AIIMS director had said on Wednesday, adding that “the focus now should be to identify spots that are showing a spike in cases and turn them into containment zones”.

Vaccine?
Meanwhile, countries like Italy and Israel have claimed that they have zeroed-in on a potential vaccine for the deadly virus that originated in China’s Wuhan around five months ago.

While some are still in the ‘trial and error’ stage, the World Health Organization has not yet confirmed a proper cure for the disease.

However, health experts in India have said that finding shortcuts to come up with a cure could do more harm in the long run, citing the example of HIV, wherein more than 32 million people across the world have fallen prey to the disease in over four decades of its existence, and yet there isn’t a vaccine.

“In the end, the vaccine has to be safe for public use and also elicit protective immune response. We are hopeful but there is no assurance that a vaccine can be successfully developed for every virus. We will have to adapt and live with this new coronavirus," Dr Navin Kumar, Head of Clinical Microbiologist and Infection Prevention, Manipal Hospital in New Delhi, said, according to news agency IANS.
I hope that GoI has enough ICU beds along with ventilators along with as much medicines needed, which can increase the chances of recovery after contracting, by this month end at least.

With the lock down winding and many of us needing to step out (either for work or other matters), chances of contracting it increases. All we can do is take as much precaution as possible (masks, regular hand wash, maintain social distancing as much as possible, disinfect surfaces at work places etc.).
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Zynda »

Huge mark-ups, even on PPE, send private hospitals bills soaring
What inflates Covid-19 treatment bills in private hospitals is much the same as what inflated bills in pre-Covid days - huge margins on diagnostics, consumables and medicines.

What is new are inflated charges for protective gear and separate charges for bio waste disposal as if hospitals did not have hazardous bio waste disposal practices in place before.

With many patients being admitted for 10-15 days, the costs add up and bills of Rs 4 lakh to Rs 16 lakh have grabbed headlines.

In the case of consumables and medicines, he modus operandi is what was exposed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) in 2018 - procuring at a fraction of the maximum retail price (MRP) but charging patients the MRP. Since the government did nothing to address the problem, it continues.

Common investigations like a liver function or kidney function tests, which costs Rs 400-800 at best in independent labs, are being billed Rs 3,000-3,500.

Similarly, procalcitonin, a test to check for bacterial infections costs Rs 1,100-3,600 in an independent lab but can cost an inpatient Rs 5,500 to over Rs 9,500.

The pattern holds for tests, big or small.

With each patient needing 3-5 covid tests, hospitals are charging the maximum allowed, Rs 4,500, though it has become evident that the actual cost could be less than half.

In the case of medicines, a telling example is that of meropenem, a high end antibiotic. It is procured by hospitals for Rs 500-900 per gram and charged at the MRP of Rs 3,330 per gram with a patient requiring two to three grams in a day, adding thousands to the bill each day.

Just as NPPA uncovered in 2018, the margins taken by hospital on medicines can be as high as 500% and on consumables ven higher than 1,000% in some cases.

While this is business as usual, Covid has added some new elements. “In the name of isolation, patients are being charged for first class room or even for single deluxe room. Chest CTs are being insisted upon. Despite being stable, many are being put in ICUs where charges are significantly higher. No rational or standard guidelines are being followed on how many times patients need to be tested r in making them repeat tests when admitted even if they already have the test result. When a patient ran up a bill of Rs 80,000 within eight hours of being admitted, t was a shocker even by standards of private hospitals,” said a senior consultant in a prominent hospital in Mumbai.

Hospitals are also charging patients Rs 2,200 or more for every PPE kit and other protection wear such as coveralls and masks. “Good quality PPE kits could cost Rs 800-Rs 1,200 to a hospital. With rational use and if the PPE cost is spread over the many patients admitted, it would add up to about three PPE per patient, which hospitals are charging at MRP” said a senior consultant in a private multi-specialty hosptal.

One hospital bill TOI analysed had charges for ‘care and hygiene’, for ‘Covid bio medical waste disposal’ and for a Covid RMO (resident medical officer) that added up to almost Rs 3,500 a day.

The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMed) has written to the health ministry several times since 2018 seeking regulation of hospital margins on medical devices and consumables.

The NPPA too had recommended rationalisation of margins to prevent exploitation of patients admitted to private hospitals. This had also been recommended by a committee of the pharmaceutical department in 2016. Niti Aayog was to look into the matter, but has done little so far.
Middle class people are stuck...Government hospitals may lack necessary cleanliness while private ones may take an individual for a ride. I think if GoI tries to regulate prices in private sector, they will push back immensely and probably would not want to accept Covid patients at all.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Zynda »

SC notice to Centre in plea to regulate Covid-19 treatment costs
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the response of the central government in a plea to regulate the cost of treatment for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients at private hospitals across the country.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, issued notice to the central government in the petition filed by a lawyer, Sachin Jain, who claimed that private hospitals are exploiting Covid-19 patients by charging exorbitant amounts for their treatment and were making a fortune out of their miseries amid the nationwide healthcare emergency.

“The state should combat the commercial exploitation by private hospitals and bring in necessary regulations on the tariff structure for regulating private hospitals for treatment of Covid-19 patients,” the petition prayed.

Jain, in his petition, referred to a news report published on April 3, which had stated that insurance companies revealed that private hospitals were saddling customers with inflated bills that were, in turn, passed on to the insurance firms.

“A reputed insurance company confirmed that it had, till April 2, settled 41 insurance claims of Covid-19 and the maximum amounted to Rs 6.5 lakh. Another well-known insurance company has stated that it has been receiving an average claim size of Rs 5-6 lakh for treatment of Covid-19 patients at private hospitals,” the petition stated.

The size of the claims, the petitioner submitted, was a matter of grave concern and the insurance companies had stated that the bills were highly inflated and unreasonable.

One such incident cited by an insurance firm was where a private hospital used personal protective equipment (PPE) units such as 300 gloves and one coverall suit on a Covid-19 patient in a single day.

The insurance companies have even started rejecting claims of Covid-19 patients by up to 50% of the amount, the petitioner submitted. { I suspect this may happen in greater intervals in future. Insurance either will deny or may cap the amount that will be reimbursed for Covid treatment at private hospitals}

“If such inflated bills can become a cause of concern for the insurance industry, what will be the plight of the common man, who neither has a fat wallet nor an insurance coverage plan?” the petition said.

Jain also sought a direction from the apex court to be issued to these private hospitals, who are functioning on public land, to treat Covid-19 patients pro bono or on a no-profit basis. {Don't agree with this...no private sector can offer services and remain viable on pro-bono basis. A reasonable charge for treatment & other hospital services is understandable}

Jain prayed that the central government should bear the expenses incurred at private hospitals by poor and vulnerable people, who don’t have any insurance coverage plan. {Government is offering free or minimal costs treatments at their facilities. People who want to be treated in a private setup need to pay up from their own pocket and should not be from Government coffers}

“Medical treatment owes a constitutional duty to treat the have-nots and a person cannot be refused treatment merely on the ground that he is not in a position to afford the fee payable for such expensive treatment,” the petition added.
saip
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by saip »

nam wrote:A 31 year old police constable dies within 2 days of symptoms showing up in form of fever and breathing difficulty. And the issue of hospital availability, that too in Delhi.

https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/coronav ... ls-2224726

For those who are not taking this seriously.
Silent hypoxia: Covid-19 patients who should be gasping for air but aren't
In hospitals around the world, doctors are shaking their heads in disbelief as they watch Covid-19 patients who should be comatose or "seizing" from hypoxia -- a lack of oxygen in the body's tissues -- check social media, chat with nurses and barely complain of discomfort while breathing.
ypically, these patients have experienced some Covid-19 symptoms for two to seven days before they show up at the hospital complaining of sudden chest tightness or an inability to breathe deeply, said Dr. Richard Levitan, who's been an emergency room physician for some 30 years.
CNN
sajo
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by sajo »

Zynda wrote: Middle class people are stuck...Government hospitals may lack necessary cleanliness while private ones may take an individual for a ride. I think if GoI tries to regulate prices in private sector, they will push back immensely and probably would not want to accept Covid patients at all.
Are private hospitals allowed to accept COVID or Suspected COVID patients at all? I believe in Pune/Mumbai they arent accepting from what I have been hearing or very reluctantly accepting. I believe they are redirected to designated COVID hospitals (Sarkari setups) only. Whats the ICMR/GOI directive for this?


Also, I cant understand why online retailing is still severely restricted while offline shops are allowed to open even for non-essentials. I mean its just sad that I can buy liquor but not a book!
nam
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by nam »

Interview of a doc, who works in the ICU.

She is pretty sure she had the virus as she works in Covid hospital. tiredness, dry cough, but no high temperature. She is not young. She was fine in couple of weeks.

They tested her twice and it came out negative both the times!

Her nurse is off sick with severe symptoms! High temperature, tiredness and not well even after two weeks!

I personally know a person, who was sick for 2-3 weeks, breathing difficulty, had to be taken to hospital. But came out negative!



There must be some theory, why some people get such a mild symptom.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by vijayk »

Kanchan Gupta
@KanchanGupta
How @smritiirani led from the front to push up the production of PPE by roping in the textile industry. Today #India is world's second largest producer of quality PPE. If we persist with this determination, we can force a change in global supply lines in post-#Covid19 world. https://twitter.com/IndiaToday/status/1 ... 1254936580
https://twitter.com/KanchanGupta/status ... 4241338369

https://twitter.com/IndiaToday/status/1 ... 1254936580

See the video
Mahendra
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Mahendra »

Rahul M wrote:Docs, there have been articles that finger oximeter readings at home might be a reliable indicator of when and if to see a doctor. Is it something you would recommend ?

my parents are in my hometown I am thinking if I should get them one for them to monitor oxygen levels regularly.
Saar most high spec Samsung phones have built in pulse oximeters, they are fairly accurate , Samsung Health is the app
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by IndraD »

amazing read and concur with the whole article completely, now every ITU is avoiding early intubation. doctors who got nCV are lying prone all night to avoid getting vented. O2 support, lying prone can actually avoid intubation. One big problem with SARS2 is thrombus, many patients have big clots, from brain to toe. Coming with surgical emergency (perforated appendix, acute abdomen) to stroke, pulmonary embolus anything.
In fact now children have presented with large vessel inflammation, skin lesions, reduced heart function and fever who recovered from Covid19.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by sanjaykumar »

The question is what is the pO2. The O2 saturation may be affected by a number of extraneous factors. pH, vasoconstriction and small molecule effectors diphosphoglycerate if I recall. Anemia, altitude.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by IndraD »

yes pulse oximeter aren't supposed to be accurate below 85% cos it would be unethical to subject humans to such degree of hypoxia, hence readings below 85% are a bit of extrapolation. While article doesn't mention Pao2, it won't have been great cos many of these patients come dusky, yet on social media. Recently there was article on pathophysiology of happy hypoxia
https://emcrit.org/pulmcrit/happy-hypoxemia-physiology/
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by sanjaykumar »

Thanks. How does the prone position correct the low pO2? I realize V Q shunts are invoked. Does one get supraphysiological pO2 in controls lying prone?!
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by DrRatnadip »

Why Private hospitals are hesitating to accept Covid pts?
1) Running a functioning multispeciality hospital , fulfilling all sort of NABH criteria is extremely costly .. average mantainence for 50 beded hospital may go upwards of 60 to 70L depending on loan etc..

2) Due to lockdown and covid panic hardly any pt is coming to opd and elective procedures are postponed.. Many hospitals are just somehow surviving this loss of revenue..

3) Delay in getting money from insurence companies is common and Hospitals may not have enough cash flow.. Because once news spreads that covid pt is /was admitted in some hospital then it is stigmatised for long time and other pts just avoid it all cost.. EVERY patient getting admitted first enquires if we have any COVID pt..

4) It is difficult to make people work in Covid wards.. Videos of people throwing stones at health workers and refusal to burry dead bodies of doctors dying of covid do have long lasting impact on morale..
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by anmol »

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Testing: Status Update:
A total of 1437788 samples have been tested as on 8 May 2020, 9 AM IST.


24 April 2020 - 541789 [ 41247 tested, 1667 positive (4.04%) ]
25 April 2020 - 579957 [ 38168 tested,1408 positive (3.68%) ]
26 April 2020 - 625309 [ 45352 tested, 1835 positive (4.04%) ]
27 April 2020 - 665819 [ 40510 tested, 1607 positive (3.96%) ]
28 April 2020 - 716733 [ 50914 tested, 1568 positive (3.07%) ]
29 April 2020 - 770764 [ 54031 tested, 1902 positive (3.52%) ]
30 April 2020 - 830201 [ 59437 tested, 1705 positive (2.86%) ]
1 May 2020 - 902654 [ 72453 tested, 1801 positive (2.48%) ]
2 May 2020 - 976363 [ 73709 tested, 2396 positive (3.25%) ]
3 May 2020 - 1046450 [ 70087 tested, 2564 positive (3.65%) ]
4 May 2020 - 1107233 [ 60783 tested, 2952 positive (4.85%) ]
5 May 2020 - 1191946 [ 84713 tested, 3656 positive (4.31%) ]
6 May 2020 - 1276781 [ 84835 tested, 2971 positive (3.50%) ]
7 May 2020 - 1357413 [ 80632 tested, 3602 positive (4.47%) ]
8 May 2020 - 1437788 [ 80375 tested, 3344 positive (4.16%) ]
vera_k
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by vera_k »

DrRatnadip wrote:Why Private hospitals are hesitating to accept Covid pts?
One more reason I heard is that current protocol requires anyone exposed to a positive case to self quarantine. Private hospitals do not have the amount of staff that government hospitals do. Given the shortage of PPE and oftentimes asymptomatic patients they are having to shut down or reduce operations while serving out the quarantine.
DrRatnadip
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by DrRatnadip »

vera_k wrote:
DrRatnadip wrote:Why Private hospitals are hesitating to accept Covid pts?
One more reason I heard is that current protocol requires anyone exposed to a positive case to self quarantine. Private hospitals do not have the amount of staff that government hospitals do. Given the shortage of PPE and oftentimes asymptomatic patients they are having to shut down or reduce operations while serving out the quarantine.
Exactly.. Anyone exposed without PPE needs to be self quarantined..
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by sajo »

DrRatnadip wrote: Exactly.. Anyone exposed without PPE needs to be self quarantined..
But what about first point of contacts when a patient comes in, like security guards, ward boys and their female counterparts (called maushis in my mother tongue), who may not have full PPE?
Are they asked to self quarantined too?
DrRatnadip
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by DrRatnadip »

sajo wrote:
DrRatnadip wrote: Exactly.. Anyone exposed without PPE needs to be self quarantined..
But what about first point of contacts when a patient comes in, like security guards, ward boys and their female counterparts (called maushis in my mother tongue), who may not have full PPE?
Are they asked to self quarantined too?
Yes .. everybody including their contacts are quarantined including maushis..
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Aditya_V »

Del.
Last edited by Rahul M on 08 May 2020 15:38, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: no political post in this thread please.
DrRatnadip
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by DrRatnadip »

Aditya_V wrote:
DrRatnadip wrote:
Yes .. everybody including their contacts are quarantined including maushis..
But Mr Rahul Gandhi has stated and press is all going on how Corona Virus is not all deadly why are you doctors spreading unnecessary fear.
Doctors dont decide quarantine policies sir.. Doctors are not responsible for spreading fear.. The way media is reporting covid numbers as cricket match scores is partially responsible for fear.. Its not right to say that virus is not deadly.. It is known to kill with impunity though actual number of pts dying is small fraction of total infected..
I wrote a post advocating gradual withdrawl of lockdawn by division in red orange and green zones much before such zones were declared.. I expected govt will allow only low risk groups out while keeping high risk individuals isolated for longer time.. This is not happening wherever lockdown is relaxed everyone including old and susceptible coming out.. This will lead to further detoriation in near future..
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Rahul M »

Mahendra wrote:
Rahul M wrote:Docs, there have been articles that finger oximeter readings at home might be a reliable indicator of when and if to see a doctor. Is it something you would recommend ?

my parents are in my hometown I am thinking if I should get them one for them to monitor oxygen levels regularly.
Saar most high spec Samsung phones have built in pulse oximeters, they are fairly accurate , Samsung Health is the app
Thanks for the info. I will check this out.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Manish_P »

Low-cost PPE made by Indian Navy clears tests for mass production
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) designed and produced by Indian Navy has received certification for mass production and be used in clinical COVID-19 situations. The PPEs have been tested by INMAS (Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences) Delhi, a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) organisation tasked with the testing and certification of PPE.

The PPE is required to meet a set of criteria on testing and the benchmarks of the same are set by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

The cost for this PPE is significantly lower than those commercially available.

A team formed by the Innovation Cell, Institute of Naval Medicine, Mumbai and the Naval Dockyard Mumbai collaborated to design and produce PPE. The PPE passed with 6/6 Synthetic blood penetration resistance test pressure. Government mandates a minimum 3/6 and above level as per ISO 16603 standard. .

“The outstanding features of the PPE are its simple, innovative and cost-effective design; thus it can be made by basic gown manufacturing facilities. The PPE is noteworthy for the innovative choice of fabric used, which gives the PPE its 'breathability' and penetration resistance rendering it both comfortable and safe for the user,” as per a release.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by DrRatnadip »

Mumbai is bracing for very big outbreak.. Combination of methylprednisolone and tocilizumab has shown promising results in few cases.. But treatment is very costly
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by vijayk »

DrRatnadip wrote:Mumbai is bracing for very big outbreak.. Combination of methylprednisolone and tocilizumab has shown promising results in few cases.. But treatment is very costly
Do they have generics?
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by DrRatnadip »

vijayk wrote:
DrRatnadip wrote:Mumbai is bracing for very big outbreak.. Combination of methylprednisolone and tocilizumab has shown promising results in few cases.. But treatment is very costly
Do they have generics?
I dont think so..
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by habal »

Why is ICMR sleeping at wheel and dragging its feet to certify many Indian made test kits ? In this hour of crisis is the imported defective commission generating Chinese kits all what that float their boats ? India cannot afford to have such organisations mismanaging covid response.

Only Korean, Chinese, German, USA test kits will do for ICMR

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation ... 38669.html

Why is India saddled with so many dubious institutions ?
Awaiting ICMR nod
Chitra GeneLAMP-N now awaits ICMR approval for Covid-19 testing in India
It took only three weeks for the team led by senior scientist Anoop Thekkuveettil to develop the kit
may have to wait for a long time, when there is so much comission to be made by lalajis at ICMR.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/good-n ... 31135.html

another antibody test kit awaiting almighty 'approval' from icmr.
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/healt ... 495728.ece
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by darshan »

Sounds similar to weapons acquisitions.

Lot of money is changing hands as ICMR isn't the only one acquiring kits. Not sure why private hospitals aren't taking non certified Indian kits and running parallel tests to see how well they are working. Or private companies should go for crowdfunding to showcase their kits.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by prasannasimha »

habal wrote:Why is ICMR sleeping at wheel and dragging its feet to certify many Indian made test kits ? In this hour of crisis is the imported defective commission generating Chinese kits all what that float their boats ? India cannot afford to have such organisations mismanaging covid response.

Only Korean, Chinese, German, USA test kits will do for ICMR

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation ... 38669.html

Why is India saddled with so many dubious institutions ?
Awaiting ICMR nod
Chitra GeneLAMP-N now awaits ICMR approval for Covid-19 testing in India
It took only three weeks for the team led by senior scientist Anoop Thekkuveettil to develop the kit
may have to wait for a long time, when there is so much comission to be made by lalajis at ICMR.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/good-n ... 31135.html

another antibody test kit awaiting almighty 'approval' from icmr.
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/healt ... 495728.ece
Kits have been approved and no ICMR is NOT drgging its feet. The issue was that approval was given but it takes time for kits to be produced and production to be ramped up. Ab kits are now coming from Indian companies.RTPCR kits are being procured from Indian companies now. I think you must check your facts before cribbing and Yes I know because we are getting COVID tests done daily and receiving those reports from the reference lab and we are going to start the Ab testing next week for screening and epidemiological purposes.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Zynda »

prasannasimha wrote: we are going to start the Ab testing next week for screening and epidemiological purposes.
This is great news. Will give a much better picture about spread of the virus (& probably a more accurate shape of the curve)...

I believe ICMR has given a nod to run clinical trials of Favipiravir in India. For the docs here (both Indian and outside), what do they think of this particular drug? And I think ICMR is also planning or has given nod to conduct blood plasma AB trials soon (I think a hospital in Chennai was identified as first one)...hopefully we will have better tools to maximize recovery rates around June/July time frame, which is when AIIMS is predicting peak outbreak in India.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by saip »

Thanks, Prasannahimha for putting facts out.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Vayutuvan »

What’s New in Computing vs. COVID-19: Julia, Twitter, TACC & More (from HPC Wire)
...
Julia researchers create verifiable neural net in Julia for COVID-19 epidemiology

Earlier this year, two researchers from MIT combined Julia’s neural networks with differential equations to create “universal differential equations.” Now, those researchers have published a paper showing the use of universal differential equations for COVID-19 epidemiology, using to tool to illustrate how different approaches to quarantine and isolation measures affected the virus’ reproduction in Wuhan, Italy, South Korea and the U.S.
...
There are links to more details for each of those items in the list.
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by suryag »

PrasannaSimha garu long time, wishing you and all the doctors best health and happiness
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by tandav »

vera_k wrote:
DrRatnadip wrote:Why Private hospitals are hesitating to accept Covid pts?
One more reason I heard is that current protocol requires anyone exposed to a positive case to self quarantine. Private hospitals do not have the amount of staff that government hospitals do. Given the shortage of PPE and oftentimes asymptomatic patients they are having to shut down or reduce operations while serving out the quarantine.
hospitals are getting a reputation that people get infected there. Accepting COVID patients scares non covid cases and destroys revenue.
anmol
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by anmol »

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Testing: Status Update:
A total of 1523213 samples have been tested as on 9 May 2020, 9 AM IST.

Code: Select all

09/5/2020 - 1523213 [ 85425 tested, 3339 positive (3.91%) ]
08/5/2020 - 1437788 [ 80375 tested, 3344 positive (4.16%) ]
07/5/2020 - 1357413 [ 80632 tested, 3602 positive (4.47%) ]
06/5/2020 - 1276781 [ 84835 tested, 2971 positive (3.50%) ]
05/5/2020 - 1191946 [ 84713 tested, 3656 positive (4.31%) ]
04/5/2020 - 1107233 [ 60783 tested, 2952 positive (4.85%) ]
03/5/2020 - 1046450 [ 70087 tested, 2564 positive (3.65%) ]
02/5/2020 - 976363  [ 73709 tested, 2396 positive (3.25%) ]
01/5/2020 - 902654  [ 72453 tested, 1801 positive (2.48%) ]
30/4/2020 - 830201  [ 59437 tested, 1705 positive (2.86%) ]
29/4/2020 - 770764  [ 54031 tested, 1902 positive (3.52%) ]
28/4/2020 - 716733  [ 50914 tested, 1568 positive (3.07%) ]
27/4/2020 - 665819  [ 40510 tested, 1607 positive (3.96%) ]
26/4/2020 - 625309  [ 45352 tested, 1835 positive (4.04%) ]
25/4/2020 - 579957  [ 38168 tested, 1408 positive (3.68%) ]
24/4/2020 - 541789  [ 41247 tested, 1667 positive (4.04%) ]
Last edited by anmol on 09 May 2020 18:47, edited 1 time in total.
srai
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by srai »

srai wrote:
srai wrote:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Date: April 2, 2020
1 million cases
50,000 deaths

5% death rate average
...

Date: April 15, 2020
Over 2 million cases today
134,000 deaths

6.7% death rate average (known cases and deaths)

Known cases doubled in two weeks.
Date: April 27, 2020
Coronavirus Cases: 3,055,498
Deaths: 211,035
Recovered: 918,184

6.9% death rate average (known cases and deaths)
30% Recovery average

Another million in 12-days. Recovered inching towards a million (1/3 of known infections).
Date: May 9, 2020
Coronavirus Cases: 4,032,763
Deaths: 276,677
Recovered: 1,399,718

6.86% death rate average (known cases and deaths)
34.7% recovery average (known cases and recovery)

Three times in a row ... 12-to-14 days another million cases
syam
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by syam »

‘Finally, a virus got me.’ Scientist who fought Ebola and HIV reflects on facing death from COVID-19
Virologist Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, fell ill with COVID-19 in mid-March. He spent a week in a hospital and has been recovering at his home in London since. Climbing a flight of stairs still leaves him breathless.

Piot, who grew up in Belgium, was one of the discoverers of the Ebola virus in 1976 and spent his career fighting infectious diseases. He headed the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS between 1995 and 2008 and is currently a coronavirus adviser to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. But his personal confrontation with the new coronavirus was a life-changing experience, Piot says.

This interview took place on 2 May. Piot’s answers have been edited and translated from Dutch:

“On 19 March, I suddenly had a high fever and a stabbing headache. My skull and hair felt very painful, which was bizarre. I didn’t have a cough at the time, but still, my first reflex was: I have it. I kept working—I’m a workaholic—but from home. We put a lot of effort into teleworking at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine last year, so that we didn’t have to travel as much. That investment, made in the context of the fight against global warming, is now very useful, of course.

I tested positive for COVID-19, as I suspected. I put myself in isolation in the guest room at home. But the fever didn’t go away. I had never been seriously ill and have not taken a day of sick leave the past 10 years. I live a pretty healthy life and walk regularly. The only risk factor for corona is my age—I’m 71. I’m an optimist, so I thought it would pass. But on 1 April, a doctor friend advised me to get a thorough examination because the fever and especially the exhaustion were getting worse and worse.

It turned out I had severe oxygen deficiency, although I still wasn’t short of breath. Lung images showed I had severe pneumonia, typical of COVID-19, as well as bacterial pneumonia. I constantly felt exhausted, while normally I’m always buzzing with energy. It wasn’t just fatigue, but complete exhaustion; I’ll never forget that feeling. I had to be hospitalized, although I tested negative for the virus in the meantime. This is also typical for COVID-19: The virus disappears, but its consequences linger for weeks.

I was concerned I would be put on a ventilator immediately because I had seen publications showing it increases your chance of dying. I was pretty scared, but fortunately, they just gave me an oxygen mask first and that turned out to work. So, I ended up in an isolation room in the antechamber of the intensive care department. You’re tired, so you’re resigned to your fate. You completely surrender to the nursing staff. You live in a routine from syringe to infusion and you hope you make it. I am usually quite proactive in the way I operate, but here I was 100% patient.

I shared a room with a homeless person, a Colombian cleaner, and a man from Bangladesh—all three diabetics, incidentally, which is consistent with the known picture of the disease. The days and nights were lonely because no one had the energy to talk. I could only whisper for weeks; even now, my voice loses power in the evening. But I always had that question going around in my head: How will I be when I get out of this?

After fighting viruses all over the world for more than 40 years, I have become an expert in infections. I’m glad I had corona and not Ebola, although I read a scientific study yesterday that concluded you have a 30% chance of dying if you end up in a British hospital with COVID-19. That’s about the same overall mortality rate as for Ebola in 2014 in West Africa. That makes you lose your scientific level-headedness at times, and you surrender to emotional reflections. They got me, I sometimes thought. I have devoted my life to fighting viruses and finally, they get their revenge. For a week I balanced between heaven and Earth, on the edge of what could have been the end.

I was released from the hospital after a long week. I traveled home by public transport. I wanted to see the city, with its empty streets, its closed pubs, and its surprisingly fresh air. There was nobody on the street—a strange experience. I couldn’t walk properly because my muscles were weakened from lying down and from the lack of movement, which is not a good thing when you’re treating a lung condition. At home, I cried for a long time. I also slept badly for a while. The risk that something could still go seriously wrong keeps going through your head. You’re locked up again, but you’ve got to put things like that into perspective. I now admire Nelson Mandela even more than I used to. He was locked in prison for 27 years but came out as a great reconciler.

I have always had great respect for viruses, and that has not diminished. I have devoted much of my life to the fight against the AIDS virus. It’s such a clever thing; it evades everything we do to block it. Now that I have felt the compelling presence of a virus in my body myself, I look at viruses differently. I realize this one will change my life, despite the confrontational experiences I’ve had with viruses before. I feel more vulnerable.

One week after I was discharged, I became increasingly short of breath. I had to go to the hospital again, but fortunately, I could be treated on an outpatient basis. I turned out to have an organizing pneumonia-induced lung disease, caused by a so-called cytokine storm. It’s a result of your immune defense going into overdrive. Many people do not die from the tissue damage caused by the virus, but from the exaggerated response of their immune system, which doesn’t know what to do with the virus. I’m still under treatment for that, with high doses of corticosteroids that slow down the immune system. If I had had that storm along with the symptoms of the viral outbreak in my body, I wouldn’t have survived. I had atrial fibrillation, with my heart rate going up to 170 beats per minute; that also needs to be controlled with therapy, particularly to prevent blood clotting events, including stroke. This is an underestimated ability of the virus: It can probably affect all the organs in our body.

Many people think COVID-19 kills 1% of patients, and the rest get away with some flulike symptoms. But the story gets more complicated. Many people will be left with chronic kidney and heart problems. Even their neural system is disrupted. There will be hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, possibly more, who will need treatments such as renal dialysis for the rest of their lives. The more we learn about the coronavirus, the more questions arise. We are learning while we are sailing. That’s why I get so annoyed by the many commentators on the sidelines who, without much insight, criticize the scientists and policymakers trying hard to get the epidemic under control. That’s very unfair.

Today, after 7 weeks, I feel more or less in shape for the first time. I ate white asparagus, which I order from a Turkish greengrocer around the corner from my home; I’m from Keerbergen, Belgium, an asparagus-growing community. My lung images finally look better again. I opened up a good bottle of wine to celebrate, the first in a long time. I want to get back to work, although my activity will be limited for a while. The first thing I picked up again is my work as a COVID-19 R&D special adviser to von der Leyen.

The Commission is strongly committed to supporting the development of a vaccine. Let’s be clear: Without a coronavirus vaccine, we will never be able to live normally again. The only real exit strategy from this crisis is a vaccine that can be rolled out worldwide. That means producing billions of doses of it, which, in itself, is a huge challenge in terms of manufacturing logistics. And despite the efforts, it is still not even certain that developing a COVID-19 vaccine is possible.

Today there’s also the paradox that some people who owe their lives to vaccines no longer want their children to be vaccinated. That could become a problem if we want to roll out a vaccine against the coronavirus, because if too many people refuse to join, we will never get the pandemic under control.

I hope this crisis will ease political tensions in a number of areas. It may be an illusion, but we have seen in the past that polio vaccination campaigns have led to truces. Likewise, I hope that the World Health Organization [WHO], which is doing a great job in the fight against COVID-19, can be reformed to make it less bureaucratic and less dependent on advisory committees in which individual countries primarily defend their own interests. WHO too often becomes a political playground.

Anyway, I remain a born optimist. And now that I have faced death, my tolerance levels for nonsense and bullshit have gone down even more than before. So, I continue calmly and enthusiastically, although more selectively than before my illness.”
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mukkan
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by mukkan »

Two Gulf-returnees test positive in Kerala...
The 23-year-old had landed in Kochi on May 7 from Abu Dhabi. He was quarantined at Ernakulam Medical...
The man who tested positive in Kozhikode had returned from Dubai on May 7....

https://english.manoramaonline.com/news ... kdown.html
Ambar
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by Ambar »

Arent the flights suspended ? How are they even landing from Middle east ?
mukkan
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Re: Wuhan Coronavirus Resource Thread

Post by mukkan »

It is part of Vande Bharat Mission: evacuation process
India announced it will begin phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. The government said that Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 643406.cms

Ambar wrote:Arent the flights suspended ? How are they even landing from Middle east ?
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