In the wake of the novel corona virus, CGTN met with Dr. Waweru Munyu, Respiratory Health Specialist based in Nairobi. We asked him more on the novel coronavirus, how to protect ourselves, and what to expect in Africa, here’s what he had to say:
CGTN: What is the Coronavirus?
WM: Corona viruses – specifically the one that is the novel coronavirus – is thought to have arisen from animals, and this is not the first time it has happened. We have had previous attacks – remember the SARS epidemic a few years pack? We also had the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus, MERS, that is another coronavirus. These corona viruses have affected mankind in the previous decade or two. This particular one is also thought to have jumped from animals to human beings and as you may be aware, it was traced to a certain market in Wuhan. It is thought either bats or snakes are the reservoir, and unfortunately so far we don’t know what the real reservoir is. But it is thought it jumped from those animals, maybe people were in close contact or they ate the animals, and this now led to the human being affected. And this can happen if the virus changes its constitution and that allows it to enter the human organism so to speak.
We have had many people affected. Right now, about 2,600 going into 300 have been proven to have the coronavirus in China. Around 37 other countries have reported cases. Luckily so far in Africa the cases that were thought to be novel coronavirus infections have proven not to be so.
CGTN: How is it spread?
WM: So far, the signs show that the methods of spreading are similar. This is mainly contact and aerosol. By contact you know we touch our faces very frequently, and if l have touched someone who has fluids which contain this virus, I can easily transmit them to myself by touch. Similarly, if you are close to someone who is coughing, and the virus is aerosolized, one can inhale the virus and the disease can manifest.
Once one has been exposed to the virus, it takes time before the signs manifest, and we call that period the incubation period. It is thought to be anything between five and fourteen days. During that period, one may not have any symptoms at all, but because they are still producing viruses, there is a small chance they can spread the virus to other people. Once the disease manifests in a person, it means that the viruses are quite a lot in the fluids. That is the septum, nasal discharge, and even the tears. When that person has such a huge number of viruses, then after incubation period they can spread the disease easier to other people.
CGTN: What are the symptoms?
WM: Does everyone have the same symptoms? Not really. But the most common symptoms are fever, aches and pains, headaches, runny nose, cough, chest pain, and in the more advanced stages of the disease, the person may have difficulty breathing. This is because the virus at that time has moved from the upper airways into the lungs, causing pneumonia. And pneumonia is a very severe form of this infection and really that is what’s respiratory failure, and that’s what’s causing death.
CGTN: Is there a cure?
WM: About 2000 to 3000 people are confirmed to have the illness and about 80 to 90 have died, roughly translating to 3 – 4 %. So yes it kills people, people need to be worried, but the majority of the people have mild symptoms, they do not require to go to hospital, they do not require medication, and those are people who will get by just by controlling their pains and fevers with simply medicines like paracetamol, drinking lots of fluids. But there is that group of people who need to be taken to hospital; they will be unwell; they will be having difficulty breathing. Unfortunately so far we don’t have any medication for this condition, so if this person comes and finds me, all I am able to offer is supportive therapy, this means that if the person is in pain I control that pain effectively, if the person is having difficulty breathing, I supplement oxygen and in some cases, people may require ventilation support.
CGTN: How can you protect yourself?
WM: The basic things are basic hygiene. If one suspects they have the infection, please avoid meeting other people, stay at home, take it cool. If you are exposed to a person who has a flu like illness and you greet them or share things with them or you work with them, the key thing is basic hand hygiene. That means washing your hands after coming into contact with this person, and you can use water, alcohol rubs, anything to get your hands clean. In terms of children, you control them if there is a child that is unwell, please don’t ask that child to go to school. But I like to reiterate that at this point in time, we do not have a proven infection in this country. People should be careful but so far, we do not have this infection.
CGTN: Can Africa handle the coronavirus?
WM: What we find these days is that travel has become very easy and within a few hours one can cross multiple timelines, therefore it is right to be suspicious that eventually we will get cases, or it is just a question of when. Now if people doing public health at the airport or other points of entry do the necessary things then we reduce the risk of it coming to us. But if it does get worse then we do have public health services, and so far, we have seen a good response. For instance, the people who have come in have been quarantined, and the tests have been done, and we have got those reports in good time. And that applies to Kenya. About other Africa countries, we have various levels of capacity, so we are at a disadvantage compared to America, to China, who are way more advanced than we are. But if people take the basic controls such as screening at entry points, getting those people who are suspected to have the condition quarantined and tested. – I think we have a good chance of controlling this. But all that remains to be seen.
