Zhang Wenhong: SARS-CoV-2 has become a "resident virus". Normalization of epidemic prevention and control does not mean normalization

Reporters : Chen Jing, Zhou Xiaolan / Publisher : China News Network via ScienceNet

Ref : http://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2020/9/446222.shtm 

Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

 Image : Countries such as Thailand (below), Taiwan and Lao PDR have remained "free" of domestic covid cases whereas SARS-CoV-2 has become a "resident virus" in many other countries including the People's Republic of China.

"SARS-CoV-2 has become a "resident virus" in the human world. The fatality rate is still not low, which has become a headache." Professor Zhang Wenhong, Head of the Shanghai Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Clinical Treatment Expert Team and Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Huashan Hospital, said bluntly on the 26th that at present, the normalization of epidemic prevention and control in China does not mean normalization.

The expert pointed out, “As the world is still in the pandemic stage, it is inevitable that there will be “small sparks” in China. How to ensure that the “small sparks” will not become an “outbreak” depends on everyone’s awareness of prevention and control.”

At the 2nd Cross-Strait International Medical and Special Needs Service Development Conference and the 13th High-end Medical Service and Construction Seminar held on the same day, Zhang Wenhong shared the international and domestic epidemic trends and the impact on international medical care. He said, “From the history of infectious diseases, a virus with a very high fatality rate cannot be a resident virus in humans.” He added, “The SARS virus has a high fatality rate and has not been seen for a few months. MERS virus in Egypt and the case fatality rate of Ebola virus is higher, but it cannot go out of the Middle East and Africa. In contrast, the case fatality rate of the novel coronavirus has not yet dropped, but it has caused a global pandemic, which is very different from previous viruses."

Zhang Wenhong said that it can be seen that “this is a virus that attacks the elderly in a frenzy and is relatively 'benevolent' to the young.” Regarding the question of when the world will restart, Zhang Wenhong proposed that when the vaccine comes out, the world restarts. He said that the current research in China is encouraging, and the antibody level can last for more than 6 months. This means that although the novel coronavirus is special, it induces human immunity and resistance, which is not much different from other coronaviruses. Zhang Wenhong hopes that many countries in the world will work together to eliminate barriers and fight the epidemic together. He hopes that the vaccine will come out and the world will come out of the shadow of the epidemic.

The event was hosted by the International Medical and Special Services Professional Committee of the Cross-Strait Medical and Health Exchange Association and undertaken by the International Medical Center of Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University. The conference attracted many experts from across the strait and four places to gather in the cloud, and the number of online and offline participants exceeded 500.

The Chairman of the conference, Professor Gu Jingwen, released the results of big data analysis and research on foreign inpatients in Shanghai. She said that the geographical distribution of foreign inpatients in Shanghai is wide, and the number of services, the number of surgical operations and the number of participating service institutions are all on the rise. 26% of non-public medical services serve 38% of foreign inpatients, which has an efficiency advantage. Gu Jingwen pointed out that international medical services can effectively link up the advantages of public and non-public medical institutions and learn from each other. She looks forward to innovating and improving the service model to provide the best medical experience for international people.

This high-end medical service and construction seminar also focused on international medical tourism. Relevant experts introduced the practical experience of Israeli and Finnish medical tourism to help better develop medical tourism with Chinese characteristics.