The World Health Organization warned yesterday that the spread of the "Covid-19" epidemic is "accelerating" and has not reached its climax yet. While the organization recognized that "evidence appears" about the transmission of "Covid-19" infection in the air, after a group of 239 international scientists invited health authorities, and the World Health Organization to this, a study revealed that the use of hydrochloroquine "in the long term" does not prevent cases of " Covid-19 »Dangerous.
In detail, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanum Gebresus, warned yesterday that the spread of the "Covid-19" epidemic is "accelerating", and 400,000 new cases were recorded during the end of last week, noting that it has not reached its climax yet.
He said during a press conference via the Internet: «If the number of injuries appears to be stable globally, the reality is that some countries have made great progress in reducing their number of deaths, while the number of deaths in other countries is still rising.
The organization acknowledged that "evidence is emerging" about the transmission of "Covid-19" infection in the air, after a group of 239 international scientists sounded the alarm about this type of transmission.
"We acknowledge that (evidence appears) in this area, and therefore we must be open to this possibility and understand its implications," the WHO official, Benedetta Allegranzi, said at an online press conference.
She added, "The possibility of the virus being transmitted by air cannot be ruled out in crowded public places in particular. Evidence must be gathered and interpreted. ” Allegranzi recommended "effective indoor ventilation, and physical spacing." And she continued, "When this is not possible, we recommend putting the muzzle."
This comes after the group of scientists warned that the possibility of "Covid-19" infection being transmitted in the air, and they recommended strong ventilation in the interior of public places. They sent their letter, especially to the World Health Organization, which was criticized mainly for being late in recommending the use of masks. They have refused to see accumulated evidence of a possible infection in the air.
The World Health Organization and other health agencies believe that the virus is transmitted, especially through droplets caused by coughing, sneezing and speaking directly in the face of a person close to the patient, and perhaps through the surfaces on which this spray resides, to be later attached to the hands of healthy people. This spray is heavy and falls about a meter away.
Based on this, it is advised to physically separate, wash hands, and apply muzzle.
However, studies of the emerging corona virus and other respiratory viruses indicated that virus particles are also present in a microscopic mist by the spray that an infected person exhales. This spray is lighter, and it can remain stuck in the air for hours, perhaps, and other people inhale it.
"We call on the medical community and relevant national and international bodies to acknowledge the possibility of an (Covid-19) infection being transmitted to the air," wrote Diaa Murawska, of the University of Queensland in Australia, and Donald Milton, of the University of Maryland, in an article signed by 237 other experts.
The two worlds added: "There is a high possibility that the virus present in this microscopic respiratory droplet will inhale at short and medium distances (up to several meters inside a room), and we call for resorting to preventive measures to prevent the transmission of infection in the air."
With the start of lifting the isolation procedures, it is urgent, according to these experts, to better ventilate the workplace, as well as schools, hospitals, and nursing homes, and to adopt injury control tools, such as advanced air filters and special UV rays that eliminate germs in the ventilation ducts.
Authorities in the United States and Europe are ahead of the World Health Organization in this area. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises "to increase air circulation as possible".
On June 22, the European counterpart of these centers explained that ventilation may reduce the strength of the virus in the atmosphere and expel it.
A great example of this is the recording of a hot spot of injuries that broke out in a restaurant in the Chinese canton in January, after a person with no symptoms was transferred to customers sitting on two adjacent tables, without any contact with them. Other injuries on a Chinese bus and in the ranks of an American choir support this hypothesis.
On the other hand, a French study, the results of which were published yesterday, showed that patients who were treated "long-term" with chloroquine or hydrochloroquine, especially for immune diseases, had not suffered less serious infections with "Covid-19", during the outbreak of the epidemic. The authors of the study, which included about 55 thousand patients, concluded that its results "do not suggest a preventive role in the use of synthetic malaria drugs in the long term, from the risks of hospitalization, the patient's breathing apparatus, or death, due to the Corona virus."
The researchers announced that «even if the results of the study do not allow conclusively confirm the absence of benefits for malaria drugs to prevent a dangerous form of (Covid-19), it does not encourage the preventive use of hydrochloroquin in general, and among individuals who are most at risk in particular, outside the specific treatment trials ».
The scientists studied “cases of people who received at least six prescriptions for synthetic malaria drugs between January 1, 2019 and February 15, 2020.”
Hydrochloroquine is especially prescribed to treat immune diseases, such as sinus disease, when the immune system attacks body tissues and organs, or arthritis.
The results showed "an increased risk of hospitalization and placing the patient on a respirator or (Coffid-19) death, among patients treated with artificial malaria drugs in the long term, compared to the general French."
But "the analysis suggests that the increased risk justifies the advantages associated with underlying chronic diseases," among these patients "especially for oral cortisone therapy rather than exposure to artificial malaria drugs."
The study was conducted by the IPAR Far agency, which includes the Medicines and Health Insurance Agency, based on hospital insurance data and medical files (hospital admission date, disease diagnosis, medical reports and medications being delivered).
• The use of hydrochloroquine "in the long run" does not protect against dangerous "corona" cases.