"The Lancet" editor-in-chief interviewed by Bai Yansong: "Conspiracy Theory of Virus Origin" is ridiculous, disappointing remarks by American politicians

　　There are many outbreaks of new pneumonia in the world. How do you evaluate China's experience in epidemic prevention and control? How to treat the "conspiracy theory of virus origin" and "responsibility theory" that appear frequently? In the "News 1 + 1" program on May 1, Bai Yansong interviewed Richard Houghton, editor-in-chief of the international leading medical journal "The Lancet", in response to public concerns.

China has many experiences worth learning from the world

　　Horton said that in this epidemic, China has a lot of experience that is worth learning from the world. For example, the square cabin hospital is a very important innovation for China to successfully respond to the epidemic. Mild patients can enter the square cabin hospital, someone takes care of them, and establishes a triage system. If the condition gets worse, the patient will be referred to another hospital. This is a very good innovative idea, which not only protects the hospital but also provides a large number of doctors. Space, effectively isolate patients. This is a very important factor for China's success in combating the epidemic and an important experience that other countries in the world can learn from.

　　Horton said that China is now a major scientific country, and China is now one of the leaders in the submission of scientific papers to the "Lancet" series of journals. China's scientific development is already at the world's leading level, thanks to the Chinese government's past 20 Years of investment in scientific research is a very important factor that has contributed to China ’s success in this epidemic. Unfortunately, China is not considered a big country in the field of medicine and medical science, but this epidemic does reflect China's advantages. Horton hopes that after this epidemic, more countries will recognize China's contribution to the epidemic, and hope to see more Chinese scientists and leaders in the medical community active on the world stage.

The impact of the "epidemic" caused by false information is comparable to the severity of the virus

　　In response to rumors such as the "Virus Conspiracy Theory", Horton said that many of these statements are very ridiculous, but they should also be taken seriously. "Virus conspiracy theory" is unfavorable to fight against the epidemic. We must understand the origin of the virus and study it with a scientific attitude. We must not let this conspiracy theory disturb our thinking. The negative impact of this conspiracy theory is very serious of. As the Director General of the World Health Organization said, in recent months we have been fighting two outbreaks, one caused by viruses and the second caused by false information. The impact of false information in many cases is as severe as the epidemic caused by the virus. Such rumors spread like viruses and affect people, causing harm to people. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate rumors while preventing and controlling the spread of the virus.

Finding patient No. 0 is of little significance. More important is to find the origin of the virus.

　　Horton said it was not very meaningful to look for patient number zero. For example, when the AIDS outbreak occurred in the 1980s, many people wanted to find AIDS patient No. 0 and spent a lot of energy. At that time, people thought that it had been found. This person was widely discussed after being exposed by the media, but many years later it was found that this person was not the patient No. 0. Finding patient No. 0 may cause stigma and discrimination. It does not play any role and is not scientific.

　　But on the other hand, we really need to understand the origin of this virus, know where it came from, understand its transmission process, and then reduce the risk of spreading to humans.

What some American politicians say is disappointing

　　Horton said he highly appreciates the level of scientific and medical development in the United States. American doctors and scientists have done a very good job in responding to the epidemic, such as Anthony Fudge, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Deborah. Dr. Burkes are very distinguished researchers. But what disappointed him was American politicians who advocated conspiracy theories, supported some treatments without clear evidence, and publicly criticized other countries or organizations. This approach is useless. What we should do is to strengthen cooperation to meet the challenges posed by the epidemic. Differentiating various countries and peoples cannot effectively deal with this threat to all mankind.

The death of tens of thousands of people in many countries could have been avoided

　　Horton said that the World Health Organization defined the outbreak as an international public health emergency on January 30. This is a warning to the world to remind the world to pay attention to the outbreak. Dr. Tan Desai mentioned the spread of this virus. Get everyone ready. The World Health Organization is the most important authority in the global health field, and we need to heed the WHO ’s warnings. Unfortunately, many countries do not pay attention to early warning, causing tens of thousands of deaths, and this situation could have been avoided.

How long will the epidemic end in the world?

　　Horton said that from the perspective of Wuhan, the blockade is from January 23 to early April, which is about 10 weeks. At present, the spread of this virus in Wuhan has been basically completely eliminated, indicating that the first wave of the epidemic was blocked in ten weeks. It will end later.

　　Talking about the prevention and control of the epidemic, Horton said that we must now maintain some protective measures, such as maintaining the distance between the crowd, paying attention to personal hygiene, washing hands frequently, paying attention to cough etiquette, etc., we can prevent the epidemic from rebounding. In the next six to twelve months, we are likely to have a vaccine developed. At this time next year, we may start to inject this vaccine so that everyone can be truly protected.