4 healthcare specialists have debunked wrong notions getting held by a portion the Ghanaian general public about the new coronavirus condition.
Speaking on a myths-busting edition of PM Categorical on the Joy Information channel Dr Titus Beyou, Deputy Standard Secretary of the Ghana Professional medical Affiliation Dr Yaw Bediako, a Exploration Fellow at the West Africa Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens Dr Bertha Serwaa Ayi, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Nebraska Medical Centre, Usa and Dr Michael Owusu, a Virologist at the Section Healthcare Diagnostics at the KNUST and Researcher at KCCR, took turns to discredit at the very least five popular myths about the pandemic.
Fantasy 1: The elderly are the most at danger of receiving significant and dying from coronavirus young people are not
For the reason that information from international locations exactly where the outbreak has wreaked havoc show that older and aged folks (aged 60 in addition) are the most susceptible to Covid-19, this has been prolonged to indicate that they are most most likely to die from the virus.
Dr Owusu, the Virologist, claimed the fatality pattern in the U.S. shows some thing diverse from this widely-held belief – folks with underlining wellness conditions – younger and outdated – a have died from the virus.
He reported most persons are commonly uncovered to possibly the delicate or extreme pressure of the virus and that the extreme (or deadly) strains ordinarily complicates present wellness situations in individuals and worsening their health situations to a significant stage.
He defined that the loss of life of a 19-yr-previous boy the virus in the Northern Region is evidence that it is not only the aged that are vulnerable the sickness.
In accordance to him, as it turned evident that the boy experienced bronchial asthma, the virus normally complicates underlining circumstances in folks who get infected.
Dr Bediako, the scientist at the West Africa Centre for Mobile Biology and Infectious Pathogens, also warned the public in opposition to this myth.
“Yes it is accurate that most of the deaths that have happened globally do come about in persons who are more mature and so that would suggest that men and women who are past 60 are a lot more at risk of dying. But it does not signify that younger folks are fully immune from demise,” he mentioned.
He explained as far more details is getting gathered about the virus, it would be secure for every person to adhere to hygiene and security protocols that avoid an infection.
Infectious sickness pro, Dr Bertha Serwaa Ayi, said also stated age does not make one particular additional predisposed the virus than a further particular person.
“It is the manifestation that may perhaps fluctuate frequently with age,” she stated.
Dr Titus Beyou capped the experts’ tips by stating that the most predictive component about the virus now is that it complicates the wellbeing conditions of people is underlining disease.
“The younger can die, and the old can die,” he pressured.
Myth 2: Blacks are immune
Dr Ayi started the education on this wrong notion by stating that the simple fact that one Cameroonian recovered from the virus in China does not indicate all Blacks are most likely to do same.
He stated diabetes and higher blood force, which African American are more susceptible to, will effortlessly be sophisticated by the virus – the explanation present trends in the United States display African Us residents, although are in the minority, are dying more from the disease.
Dr Bediako also claimed it is erroneous to consider that for the reason that the coronavirus situation counts are lower in Africa, Blacks have a far better immune program to struggle the ailment.
According to him, the quantities in Africa are lower since African nations around the world are not carrying out tests.
“People might be dying but their deaths are just not staying attributed to the virus so it will appear like Covid-19 is not killing folks in Africa,” he extra.
Fantasy 3: The virus does not do properly in hotter climates
Dr Owusu said men and women ought to be careful about quite a few of the assumptions about the virus that getting circulated as it is way too early to make assumptions about it.
“Weather does not engage in any substantial job in phrases of bacterial infections,” Dr Owusu stressed.
He stated although no scientific studies have confirmed this, his personal guess is that warm climate my sluggish the unfold of the virus, but that does not imply persons living in hotter climates are not prone to contracting Covid-19.
Dr Bediako also stressed that viruses are distribute by the movement of persons, not climate.
In accordance to Dr Bediako, though Ghana has taken some smart techniques to include the unfold, Ghana has been fortunate.
Dr Ayi explained 63 diploma Celsius is the identified temperature that will kill the virus, but Ghana’s local weather is not that incredibly hot for that element to be considerable.
Myth 4: 5G is spreading the virus
Dr Owusu explained he was amazed by the popularity of this fantasy.
“Viruses do not vacation through radio waves,” he echoed a assertion by the Environment Overall health Organisation on this myth.
Fantasy 5: Chloroquine will cure the virus
The gurus warn that the scientific earth is sharply divided about this. They say even if chloroquine was in a position to treatment the ailment, the aspect consequences of the aged malaria drug makes it an unsuitable drug to deal with the illness in infected folks.
Myth 6: Consuming Alcohol (Akpeshie) can avoid infection
The gurus say the ideal circumstance scenario will be that if Akpeshie was rubbed on the band as a sanitiser, it will kill the virus, but not when it was consumed.
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