The number of COVID-19 cases in India has crossed 400, with many states imposing a lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. And while the pandemic has been raging across the world for over three months now, it is crucial to understand the novel coronavirus.
Pavithra Venkatagopalan, a Chennai-based biotechnologist, who has spent years studying coronaviruses spoke to TNM about SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the global lockdown. She also sheds light on some myths surrounding the virus.
How is this virus different from other types of coronaviruses like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)?
This virus is a new strain compared to the two other viruses. Meaning it is just different enough that it can cause infection in large populations. Technically what this means is- the whole world is "naive" to this virus. Because the world has never been exposed to this virus, there is no chance of any acquired immunity in any of the populations. Structurally and life cycle wise, this virus is the same as SARS and MERS. The genomic sequence reveals that the genome is very similar to SARS-CoV. Please note that the new virus is called SARS-CoV 2 and the infection is called COVID 19.
How does the virus jump from animals to humans?
Viruses jumping from animals are very common. It has happened in the past and it will continue to happen in the future. These are called zoonotic viruses. The virus jumping from animals to humans is a matter of probability, and happens because of close contact with an infected host. The goal of any virus is to replicate as much as possible. Every virus has an inherent rate of mutation. Sometimes these mutations result in their ability to infect other species. When a suitable host is accessible to the virus, it infects the host. That is all.
How does this virus spread from person to person?
Droplet transmission. Water droplets, contact with fluids containing the virus and touching our face. The question whether this can be transmitted through air is open-ended. A non-peer-reviewed study has done some research on it, but we have to wait and see what it says.
How long will this virus live in the atmosphere? Off late, we have been hearing that it will not thrive beyond 12 hours.
That is not true. Coronaviruses are very fragile. They do not survive harsh conditions. They do not survive for a long time in higher temperature and higher humidity. I don't know what surviving 12 hours in the atmosphere means....if the virus is completely dry, it is inactivated- ie dead.
It is also important to note that this virus is very fragile, meaning it can be destroyed using soap and water. It is sensitive to moisture around it. Hence the advice to keep washing hands with basic soap and water.
How would you peg India’s state in the global pandemic situation? Do you think India is testing enough?
India is a democratic country with mostly responsible citizens. India is also a massive country with geographically, economically, socially and cultural challenges in adapting a single universal policy. Challenges in tackling the virus in India are multi level. We cannot simply ape another country's containment style.
In my opinion, for such a new virus, we are doing remarkably well. As for testing, I hear this inclusive testing a lot. But it is not easy. Remember the virus is so new. We are doing great in terms of global cooperation in getting the testing kits designed, developed and validated.
Yes, more testing is needed. But testing kits don't appear magically. They absolutely need to be validated to ensure they don't give false positives or false negatives. Once these kits are available, their manufacturing needs to be scaled up. Even if India decides to test 30% of its population, that is almost 4 crore test kits. Who is having the ability to manufacture that many kits in such a short time? While testing is needed and effective, we need to work within the reality of what production capacities allow.
We have been hearing that this strain of virus is stronger and more severe than SARS or MERS. How true is that?
The virus causing COVID-19 is more virulent- meaning, it spreads much faster and more efficiently than SARS or MERS. But if you look at its mortality rate, it's less than SARS (10%) and MERS (30%). But let us remember that 3.5 % of 133 cr is 45 lakh people. so it is still a huge number in India.
How valid are people’s fear that chicken might be infected by coronavirus? Does coronavirus jump from poultry to humans due to consumption?
Absolutely untrue. Cooking kills coronavirus whether it is chicken or mutton or egg. A simple WhatsApp rubbish forward has ruined the lives of so many of these chicken farmers.
How can people safeguard themselves now? Do masks really help?
Hand hygiene and social isolation are our best defences in the absence of a vaccine.This places a lot of responsibility on us as individuals. Everyone wants a magic drop or pill to completely boost their immunity or stop the infection. I'll ask my pet unicorn to see if such a pill exists.
Masks don't help the average healthy human. Mask wearing is not as simple as putting a cloth over the face. There is a process and a protocol. If we are not in the medical field, we don't know them and it's not something that can be learnt overnight. Moreover, wearing masks gives us a false sense of security, where we ignore the practises that do actually work. So please leave the masks to the healthcare workers. They really need them. You and I don't.